Health Education and Social Assistance.
50. A staff of almoners and tuberculosis visitors undertake ever increasing duties in the clinics and in homes of patients. Each diagnosed case is interviewed regarding details of the financial and social status and home and family circumstances. Material assistance is given in several ways, such as weekly grants of cash for patients obliged to give up work in order to undergo treatment, rehabilitation grants and the issue of milk powder and other foods to patients and their families.
51. Health Education is an important function of tuber- culosis visitors and is especially effective as part of their home visiting programme.
Malaria.
52. In 1955 only 431 cases of malaria with 9 deaths were recorded in the Colony. With a population of approximately 21 million at risk in a potentially highly malarious area this is a satisfactory figure, justifying the constant control work which is carried out.
53. Protected areas where active control work is con- tinuous, embrace the whole of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Kowloon and selected sites in the New Territories. The latter include the Tai Lam Chung reservoir area, Rennies Mill Camp, Cheung Chau Island, and the Welfare Centre for the physically-handicapped at Shap Long on Lantao Island,
54. Throughout the year surveys were carried out in the New Territories. Spleen and blood examinations for over 5,000 children aged up to 10 years revealed an overall spleen rate of 2.74% and a parasite rate of 1.07%.
55. Recent investigation has shown that since the re- introduction of compulsory notification of malaria in June 1950, cases occurring in the unprotected areas had not been fully reported.
#
56. Corrected notifications for the past 6 years are now shown in the table below:
1962
TABLE 4
Year
1950
1951
1953
1954
1955
Notified Cases
502
526
1,010
T80
475
229
Unreported Causen,
50
230
295
119
383
202
Total No. of Notifica- Lions (Corrected)..
552
756
1.305
699
BSB
431
Leprosy.
67. The treatment of leprosy in Hong Kong is unusual in that in most countries segregation in a leprosarium is compul- sory and treatment more or less voluntary, but here admission to the leprosarium is purely voluntary and offered only to selected patients in need of special hospital treatment. The vast majority of patients are treated at out-patient clinics and rendered non-infective as quickly as possible by modern treat- ment, ie, the emphasis is on treatment and not on segregation. This is justified by the fact that it has now been established that the infectivity of leprosy is extremely low. If young children could be effectively protected against risk of exposure to infec- tion, the disease would probably die out in the course of a generation or two.
58. Four new clinics were opened during the year, making a total of 7. There were 22,012 attendances at these clinics in 1955 and 762 new cases were recorded. 98 patients were admitted on a voluntary basis to the leprosarium administered by the Mission to Lepers on Hayling Island. Also 174 cases of leprosy were treated at Stanley Prison.
59. Familial contacts of all cases are examined and child contacts receive B.C.G. vaccination.
60. A recent modification of "Dapsone" (Avlo Sulphone Soluble) is being successfully used for cases that show intoler- ance to the original Dapsone, which is still normally employed. A treatment period of approximately 2 years is required to
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