The remainder
M(1)10
short sentence prisoners. As all prisoners are examined on admission all the cases contracted the disease whilst in prison.
must have
I saw a large number of the cases myself. A sample of the rice used as the basis of the prison diet was sent to the Government Analyst for report. The rice supplied by the contractor was a mixture of dark red rice and a whitish coloured rice and the Analyst report shewed that the percentage of Phosphorus Pentoxide was 0.61% which figure is well above the standard which is considered safe.
The prison was overcrowded at the time and as soon as this was remedied the trouble subsided without any alteration in the diet or general routine. There were no deaths.
Malaria -- The numbers of the police force stationed in the New Territories recruited from Weihaiwei again suffered severely from malaria. The figures can be seen in the special part of the report dealing with the Police Force.
Owing to the limited number of beds at the Government Civil Hospital it was very difficult to keep these men in Hospital for a sufficient length of time to give them a thorough course of treatment and during the Autumn the Kennedy Town Hospital was opened to deal with these cases in a more thorough manner. 92 cases were admitted. The Hospital was kept open for 53 days.
New buildings etc. :- Good progress was made in the building of the Kowloon Hospital and in the additions to the Victoria Hospital and it is anticipated that both will be completed during 1925.
Negotiations were completed for acquiring "Rennies Mills" situated in Junk Bay to be used as a quarantine station this will provide a badly felt want. Endeavours were made to find a site for a New Lunatic Asylum but unfortunately without definite result, the present Asylum is quite unsuitable for its purpose.
It has been decided to move the two small-pox hospitals from Kennedy Town to another situation but the sites have not definitely been fixed upon. It has been decided to build a hospital for Infectious Diseases other than small-pox, hitherto these have been treated at the General Hospitals.
V.--HOSPITALS, INSTITUTES, &c.
Civil Hospital.--Dr. C. W. McKenny was the officer in charge during the year. During the first part of the year Dr. J. T. Smally was second medical officer but was replaced when he went on leave, owing to his ill health, by Dr. W. Lyle Paterson.