M 147
The total deaths registered under this cause, in 1928, were 665, of which two only were Non-Chinese. The majority of these deaths (70%) occurred in the middle period of life (i.e., 30-60 years).
The following table shows the deaths ascribed to Beri-Beri during the last ten years and the percentage of these to the total deaths:
Year No. of deaths from Beri-beri Percentage of total registered deaths 1919 555 4.76 1920 361 4.90 1921 526 4.42 1922 829 5.69 1923 1,270 8.17 1924 1,502 9.65 1925 1,744 11.63 1926 1,192 9.5 1927 744 5.04 1928 665 4.57This disease is, of course, a serious cause of addition to the death roll and it seems a pity that so preventable a complaint is, in spite of our knowledge, so uncontrolled.
Unfortunately, the modern fad for polished rice is not counterbalanced by any article of native diet rich in Vitamin B.
(7) Malaria.
Malaria fever is not a notifiable disease. The only figures available, therefore, are from the death registers and a few cases that reach the General Hospital.
Although the death returns are fairly reliable, it does not follow that infection was acquired in the district in which the death was registered.
Moreover, the fluctuation of the population, to and fro, between the Colony and Chinese territory, makes it impossible to say to what extent the infection, causing deaths within the Colony, may have been acquired therein. Therefore, no case mortality or incidence are available.
All the necessary factors are present: 'reservoir' cases and the Anopheline mosquito vector. The Indian Police are a possible chronic source of the parasite. A systematic survey of these and some index, such as a splenic count, are needed. A slight majority of deaths occur on the Kowloon side (mainland).