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May 15, 1909.]
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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of Africa, a place the very name of which was state of affairs. He was very well aware that redolent with the memory of this disease. Now malaria could not be fought without an he was concerned with a military station which expenditure of money. In that titanic task for strategical purposes was found necessary to which our American cousins had undertaken this garrison. He referred to Lyemun and the of cutting through the Panama Canal adjacent village of Shaukiwan. The barracks it was estimated that the expenditure would of Lyemun, which were of modern and improved he something like £40,000.000, and he construction, were situated upon an airy plateau found that 2) per cent.. or as much as £100.000 some 250 feet above the sea. The Royal Engi. annually was being devoted to preventive neers had spent no small sums of money, and medicine as apart from any hospital or other had shown no little skill in rendering the ground medical services, nd he saw by an estimate and the precincts of the barracks free from any given by the authorities in Mauritius, that on source that could give rise to malarial produc-account of the ravages of malaria in a district tion. Every soldier was provided with a mos- near one of the military cantonments, they were quito net, which was regularly inspected, and expending no less than 8000 rupees. Now, it surprise visits were made during the night to was not at such figures or at such sums that he see that the men used them. The medical was hinting, as the small body of troops at officers exercised all care, and as to the water Lyemun could not in any way be compared there was no question; it might be compared with with the vast army of workers in Panama, the general water supply of Hongkong. But nor could the streams and rivulets now breeding in spite of all the money lavished in preparing Anopheles at Shaukiwan be compared to the the ground around, the barracks, and in spite of pestilential swamps which are causing so much every care and attention, the admission rate of trouble in the colony of Mauritius. At the malarial fever at Lyemun exceeded the admis- same time, the conditions which obtained at sion rate amongst troops in Hongkong as far Lyemun were sufficiently serious to justify him back as 1903, before anti-malarial measures were in making the proposal he had brought forward, undertaken and mosquito nets issued to the and he trusted that as a result some steps troops. After careful inspection and delibera- would be taken to mitigate the present state of tion he, and those who had examined the state of affairs and thus relieve him, as Principal affairs with him. had come to the conclusion Medical Officer of this Garrison, of no small that these conditions were due to matters amount of anxiety for the health of His existing outside War Department property. Majesty's troops serving at Lyemnn. and to discover these matters they had only to look over the edge of the cliff and down upon the bay and village of Shaukiwan. He thought it was the Registrar-General who asked about the admission rate for the police af Shaukiwan. On looking up the 1907 Colonial | Medical Report of this Colony, he found the admissions from malarial fever from the police stations throughout the island, The Central was given at 94 per 1000. while that at Shan- kiwan amounted to the enormous number of 888 per 1000. With regard to the garrison. amongst the whole of the troops serving in Hongkong for four months of this year. January to April inclusive, there wers 48 admissious for malarial fever. Out of that number 3
from the small garrison at Lyeun. That gave & ratio per thousand of 445 admissions for Lyemun as against 25 for the rest of the garrison, or practically sixteen times as much. He thought all members would agree with him when he said that conditions such as these were far from satisfactory. Now. what was to be found in Shaukiwan? First of all there was a deeply incut bay which was crowded with junks and sampans. As far as he could glean from statistics published, there were some 5,00 or 6,000 persons residing on these junks and sampans.
At high tide the vessels were floating on the surface of the water and pouring out their daily quota of excreta into the harbour, and at low tide they were lying on the mud. Leaving the water and going to the land, they would find the main thoroughfare going through Shaukiwan over which all persons going to or leaving barracks must traverse. By the side of that main thoroughfare there was a slightly trickling, sluggish stream. A casual glance at that stream would show that mosquito larvæ were breed- ing there, and the speaker's special sanitary officer reported to him that they belonged to the malarial family known as Anopheles. About this small stream were to be found sundry terraces of cultivated ground. All these terraces were carefully irrigated by means of small water channels or pits. some of which contained water while in the others were fermenting fer- tilising fluids of the character of which all were aware. These were two admirable examples of the industry of the race, but he considered them black blots in any land having European habitation. Over and above this, there were several streams coming down from the higher land and finding their way
the sea through rocky channels after forming many water holes and pools which Ware rendered very foetid through the streams being used more or less as public latrines. These rivulets discharged themselves into very small estuaries which went underneath the road and filtered on to the foreshore. In all this, many ideal nurseries for mosquito breeding were found, and he now asked that these condi- tions be thoroughly inquired into with a view to measures being taken to modify the existing
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The per mille rate, which stood as high as 1.102.8 in 1902, before the preventive mea- sures could bear fruitful results, fell away to 195.0 in 1907. The figures, which he had quoted, clearly demonstrated the efficacy of the steps that had been taken throughout the Colony generally, and which should commend themselves now for adoption, in regard to there had been brought to the notice of this Lyemun in particular, once that the evil existing Board. The various units of our local Garrison constituted too valuable au asset to the Colony for us to neglect, and he trusted that no little of the Government towards improving the monetary consideration would stand in the way
surroundings of the living quarters of those whose lives, unimpaired by preventible disease, such as malaria, tended to the greater security of the Colony.
Works, or whoever was acting in his stead, It was agreed that the Director of Publio
Colonel Bedford and Dr. Fitzwilliams should be appointed as a committee of enquiry.
TILES OR CEMENT RENDERING.
In reference to an application from a contrac- tor, the Medical Officer of Health wrote a minute in which he recommended the Board to accept Canton marble tiles as "smooth and impervious material " if not broken and if properly pointed in cement.
Dr. FITZWILLIAMS-I think the Medical Officer of Health's recommendation should be agreed to.
Mr. HOOPER-I agree with the recommenda- tion of the Medical Officer of Health.
RAT RETURN.
A return showed that in the week ending May 1st. 1.391 rats were caught in Victoria of which three were infected. In Kowloon 305 rats were caught, two being infected.
COST OF DISINFECTANTS.
With reference to the question regarding the purchase of carbolate creosote for disinfecting purposes raised by Mr. Hooper at the last meet- of the Board, considerable correspondence was submitted.
Mr MESSER in a minute dated October 6th, 1968, reported that Dr. Clark, Medical Officer of Health after consultation with the Govern- ment analyst and bacteriologist, recommended that Calvert's carbolated creosote be stocked as a disinfectant instead of Jeyes' fluid. Recent plague researches in India showed that disin- fectants for killing free bacteria were useless, as infection was carried by the bacilli in the stomach of the rat flea and that a disinfectant to be useful for plague measures must be able, to kill the germ carrier of the rat flea. Disinfectants were wanted for deodorising and for disinfecting purposes for cases of typhoid, small pox, cholera, etc. For deodorising purposes, there was not much amongst the various coal tar disinfectants, the chief point of considera- tion being therefore the price. For disinfecting. purposes, for estimating the carbolic acid test, the most useful organism was probably B. Typhosus. Recently various tests had been made by the Government experts on these dis- infectants the tests sent being samples supplied by the Standardised Disinfectants Co.. Ltd., of which detailed results were set forth. price of carbolated creosote, 1/6 per gallon, was the cheapest. The Principal Civil Medical Officer was of opinion that carbolated creosote was the cheapest disinfectant for general use, with which view the Medical Officer of Health
Mr. Ho Koм TONG had much pleasure in seconding the resolution. He was constrained to support it from the conviction which had been forced upon him not only by a perusal of the valuable report by Dr. J. C. Thomson, regarding a research into the prevalence of mosquitoes and malaria in the Colony of Hongkong and in the New Torritories, but by his personal and close observation of the progress which has been made in the successful campaign instituted, and since carried on by Government, in the year 1900. Those of his colleagues, who had the privileging of a seat on this Board since that year, would probably recall the pregnant observation of Dr. Thomson when he remarked that the crusade against the mosquito should include the alex as well as the Anopheles. Anopheles must bo dealt with by the Government chiefly, though owners of property may probably find it to their advantage to move priva- tely in this matter as well.” In anticipa- tion of the appointment of the Committee asked for in the resolution, he wished to lay stress ou what Dr. Thomson conceived to be the duty of the Government. His imperative injunction appeared to be of peculiar appositeness to the matter that pressed upon public attention in the motion submitted by the Principal Medical Officer. The adoption of Dr. Thomson's recommendation for the past nive Years happily with such beneficial results, seemed to impose upon the Government the obliga- tion to improve the district in and around Lyemun. within the immediate vicinity of the Garrison Quarters. They had tacitly accepted as their duty such improvement in regard to the other parts of the Island, notably the Western district. Kennedy Town, Keunedy and Macdonnell Roads, the neighbourhood of the Naval Hospital and Morrison Hill Road, and Happy Valley. The Military return of admissions to hospital for malaria happily showed a marked reduction in the incidence of this disease. It furnished the strongest arguments in favour of the adoption of the trite old saying that "prevention is better than cure:" The Government had not yet seen fit to publish the departmental reports for last year, so for pur- poses of comparison they were left with the figures for the decennial period ending 1907. He had just remarked that the anti-malarial measures were inaugurated by Government in 1900. They would see what the effect of those measures had been on the European Troops. In 1901 with a strength of 1.673 men the total admissions to hospital during the year were 1.010. In 1902 the soldiers suffered severely; out of 1.381 men there were 1.523 admissions. For the next five years the respective figures were:-
Year.
Strength. Admission.
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19 3
1.220
937
1904
1.426
390
1905
1.370
348
1206
1,525
480
1907.
1,461
297
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concurred.
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The
Mr. HOOFER minuted-I' would like to know the quantities of the respective disinfectants obtained by the Sanitary Board during 1908, and from whence they were obtained, and the cost of each to the Government here.
The PRESIDENT, in answer to Mr. Hooper's minute. stated that 2310 gallons of Jeyes Fluid had been purchased locally at a total cost of $4730.98 or $1.68 per gallon. 2520 gallons had been purchased through the Crown Agents at a total cost of $4770, which worked out at $1.89 per gallon.
Hon. Mr. HEWETT asked if it was fair to put the amount in dollars, seeing that the rate of exchange might account for the difference in prices.
The PRESIDENT - Mr. Hooper asked for the. rate in Hongkong money,
Mr. HOOPER asked the Medical Officer of Health whether the Jeyes Fluid procured through the Crown Agents was Jeyes Fluid,
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