M 18
78. It is impossible to make any statements about the incidence of leprosy among the inhabitants of Hong Kong because no figures worthy of attention have ever been obtained on the subject. It is quite certain that a high percentage of the lepers now in the settlement have come to Hong Kong after contracting the disease elsewhere.
Discharged
Table V.
Transferred to Sheklung Leper Settlement, Kwangtung, China ... 72 Discharged at own request ... 17 Died ... 91 Remaining at end of 1938 ... 333 ... 133(b) Tuberculosis.
79. It is regrettable to have to record that infectious cases of pulmonary tuberculosis still remain in close contact with their fellow beings, and that the majority of them are only diagnosed at autopsy. The provision of adequate hospital accommodation for all persons suffering from "open" tuberculosis is urgently needed, but there seems little hope of this need being fulfilled at the present time.
80. Attempts are being made to improve the housing conditions of the poorest Chinese, but it seems unlikely that these efforts will be attended with success until the population of the Colony returns to its pre-war level, extensive housing operations have been taken and restrictive measures have been introduced on immigration.
81. A Nutrition Research Committee has been appointed to enquire into various aspects of malnutrition and it is hoped that this body may be able to point the way to an amelioration of the problem.
82. Legislation to bring about the compulsory pasteurisation of milk was introduced in 1938, and the possibility of making spitting in public places illegal is also being considered.
(iv) Helminthic diseases.
83. Prophylaxis against helminthic diseases is effected by the control of nightsoil and refuse, the methods employed being described in the relevant section. The inspection of meat and foodstuffs is carried out regularly and a moderately successful war is waged on flies in the urban areas on the Island. Markets and slaughter houses in the urban areas are supervised by the colonial veterinary surgeon and his staff, but it is hoped to transfer this control to the health officers of the respective districts in the near future.
(v) Diseases of animals.
84. The colonial veterinary surgeon reported the following details, inter alia, relating to diseases in animals for the period under review:-