mass radiography in United Kingdom. An additional 5% were found to have significant lesions of which 30% were considered to be bealed. Some indication of the general incidence of tuberculosis among the adult popula- tion may be inferred from these figures as this group is made up of persons of all economic strata within the community, but the figures must be regarded as favourably weighted in view of the fact that all are employed persons and an unknown proportion of the total have been screened by medical examination prior to employment in the service.
124. In considering the incidence of disease by department cognisance is taken only of departments who sent 500 or more employees for examination. The figure obtained are as follows, expressed a9 percentages:
Departments
Active Quiescent
Government Stores
2.33
5.35
Public Works Department
22
4.46
General Post Office
3.74
6.26
Medical Department
1.4
3.7
Marine Department
1.05
4.31
Urban Council
0.9
3.5
Kowloon-Canton Railway
0.7
3.17
Police
0.66
3.13
Education Department
0.18
0.77
126. It will be noted that, with the exception of the Medical Depart- ment where the occupational risk of infection is greatest, the incidence is highest in the departments where manual labour is chiefly employed. The relatively favourable position enjoyed by the Sanitary Department, which is chiefly made up of unskilled labour, and by the Police Department, where one would expect a high incidence in view of their irregular hours, is to some extent explained by the fact that these departments were sur- veyed in 1948 and cases, where possible, were dealt with.
126. The General Post Office has been the subject of special action an account of the high known incidence of tuberculosis among the staff. In the nine months preceding the survey, eleven post office workers were admitted to hospital on account of pulmonary tuberculosis.
It was found at the survey that over 10% of total workers bad significant lesions, almost double the figure for all Government staff. The matter was referred to the health section, who investigated conditions fully and found that incidence was greatest among workers in the basement, where
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25% had significant lesions as against 2% among other post office workers. It has been recommended that work in this part of the building, which is very poorly ventilated, should be discontinued.
127. The figures obtained in this survey are not quite comparable to those obtained in the 1948 survey, where just under 2% of 4,515 Govern- ment employees were found to have active pulmonary tuberculosis, as the latter was incomplete and was principally among manual workers and police. At the same time a number of the tuberculous individuals found on the 1948 survey were dealt with in the intervening period and the 1949- 50 survey was already a select sample of Government employees.
128. A survey of 2,461 prisoners at Stanley Gaol showed an incidence of active pulmonary tuberculosis of 3.86%.
(v) Health Education.
129. A good deal of health education has been done during the year at the Infant Welfare Centres by daily systematic mothercraft instructions and through the use of flannelgraph methods, film strips, posters and films. As is usual in these centres, an incalculable amount of good has been done by personal instruction of each mother. More than a third of the Health Nurses' time is spent doing this work in the home.
130. Other activities of the Infant Welfare Centres included "parent- craft classes” for senior pupils from some local schools (through the co- operation of the Education Department), health education at centres operated by the Society for the Protection of Children, weekly visits to four "teaching centres" in outlying districts, and the training of anti- tuberculosis workers in health teaching in the home.
131. During the seven months of the year when it was in operation, the cinema van gave 229 shows to an estimated audience of 45,990 or an average of 201 persons per show. In addition the projectionist gave 76 shows in the infant Welfare Centres and 14 in the Conference Room at Medical Headquarters. The Medical Department artist assisted in making 2,199 flannelgraph cut-outs and posters for the mothercraft classes at the Infant Welfare Centres.
132. Three copies of the coloured film "Family Health", produced by the Medical Department, were obtained during the year and a recorded commentary was made to go with it. Towards the end of the year work was begun on the first of a series of anti-venereal disease films.
133. A certain amount of health education was done over Radio Hong Kong, Rediffusion, and through the press. Greater use was not made of these because of the absence of full-time senior health education personnel and the pressure of other work.
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