M: 55-
During the year 1924 the Non-Chinese cases of Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fevers were 42.8 per centum of the total cases while during the year 1923 they were only 28.8 per centum of the total cases.
The incidence of the diseases during 1923 was therefore heavier amongst the Chinese than amongst the non-Chinese.
Moreover, in spite of there having been no epidemic wave comparable to that of 1924 attributable to some common source of infection, the actual number of cases which occurred during 1923 exceeded by 17 the number for 1924.
Towards the end of the dry season in 1923, restriction on the supply of water caused the Chinese to collect water during the hours when it was procurable from house taps and street hydrants in buckets and various improvised receptacles and store the water throughout the remainder of the day.
Such a state of water shortage may therefore lead to accidental contamination of water after its delivery from the house taps and public fountains.
No evidence based upon the distribution of the cases either as regards place or time existed which would suggest that water from any given source was specifically contaminated before delivery, nor were the cases sufficient in number to suggest that all the sources of water were contaminated.
Notifications of Infectious disease are received from various sources and may be classed as coming from hospitals, private medical practitioners, and the public mortuaries. Those received from the mortuaries refer to cases not diagnosed before death.
A comparison of the cases of Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fevers notified in 1923 and 1924 when classed under the above-mentioned headings is interesting.
The following table shows this comparison.
Source of Notification Typhoid 1923 Typhoid 1924 Paratyphoid 1923 Paratyphoid 1924 Total 1923 Total 1924 G. C. H. 48 62 10 9 58 71 T. W. H. 36 45 0 0 36 45 K. W. H. 6 6 0 0 6 6 V. G. H. 1 3 0 0 1 3 P. P. 67 100 20 28 87 128 H. K. M. 101 25 0 0 101 25 K. M. 13 7 0 0 13 7G. C. H. means Government Civil Hospital,
T. W. H. means Tung Wah Hospital,
K. W. H. means Kwong Wah Hospital,
V. G. H. means Victoria Gaol Hospital.
P. P. means private medical practitioners.
H. K. M. means Hong-Kong Public Mortuary.
K. M. means Kowloon Public Mortuary.