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facilities for preparing food for babies and young children on
the trip from Hong Kong to Manila. It was also noted that a
fairly large number of the people who became ill had been sick
previous to their evacuation, but in many cases failed to report
this fact for several days after arrival in Manila.
Undoubtedly weather conditions during the early period of
the sojourn in Manila contributed to causes of illness. The fact
that it was necessary to transport large numbers of people to
living quarters during heavy rains, and also that mothers took
their children out frequently regardless of weather conditions,
affected the health of those who were not physically strong.
The change of food, and probably change of water, caused
gastro intestinal disturbances to some extent. During the early
period of the emergency the food for young children was probably
given insufficient consideration. The fact that it was impossible
to secure the kind of milk to which the bottle-fed babies were
accustomed caused some difficulty. Some of the mothers who were
nursing their babies lost their breast milk due to the lack of
emotional control. As adjusting new feedings to babies under the
best of conditions involves problems, it was not surprising that
many babies became ill.
One hundred patients were admitted to seven Manila hospitals
during July and August. An analysis follows:
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