Fevers
Fevers
"Even assuming the absence of certain forms of disease, and a comparative immunity from epidemics, there is no ground for the assertion that the violation of the laws of health is not punished, in China as elsewhere, with a general lowering of vital condition, and not only by intermittent scourges of epidemic disease.
"It is stated that hitherto Hongkong has escaped the epidemics which have affected other places in the neighbourhood. The settlement is but 40 years old, and the subsoil beneath the city may not yet be sufficiently saturated with filth to make it a hot bed for disease and a breeding ground of filth poison. It is somewhat premature to assume that this happy immunity will always continue, for the process of saturation is slowly but surely going on, and if unchecked cannot fail to bring forth abundant fruit in the form of misery and disease.
84. Concerning the amount of Typhoid or Enteric Fever that occurs among the Chinese in China I know little. That it is well known and recognised by medical men in some of the European settlements is proved by their reports. That it is well known here is also proved by the deaths registered among Europeans. That it is to be easily acquired I have proved in my own person, as, after my inspections of the Chinese quarters of Victoria in 1875, I was seized with a very severe attack of this disease and was delirious for eighteen days. In my report for 1881, I gave a table of the death rates among Europeans and Chinese, as registered here, from causes which may arise from filth poison, pointing out that in these diseases there are many characteristics which may cause Chinese native doctors to confuse one with another. I now give the table of the death rate from these diseases as registered for the past ten years, from which it will be seen that in the last six years there has been a considerable increase in deaths from these causes.
Deaths among Chinese 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 Enteric 12 125 31 94 145 89 116 309 438 679 Simple continued 96 46 291 243 370 481 733 373 168 71 Typhus + 16 2 8 33 21 38 Diarrhoea 195 231 288 259 311 701 608 348 435 465 Deaths among Europeans 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 Enteric 1 1 10 ****** Simple continued 1 2 4 Typhus Diarrhoea 17 17 18 14 10 3 1 2 10 15 21 12 17 13 I 1 14 10 10 1385. That this class of cases should be steadily increasing year after year is proof enough that there is something radically wrong somewhere, and Mr. CHADWICK's and my own reports of the state of the Chinese houses in this city give sufficient evidence that there is every reason to believe much of it is caused by the foul and unwholesome state of these dwellings.
86. This year we have had cholera epidemics carrying off thousands in Japan and Manila, which are both within a week's journey of us. That we have escaped, considering the amount of traffic passing from these countries through this port, is something for the Colonists to be thankful for, but not to crow about, for we have done nothing to deserve such fortune.
87. Table XVI shows the rate of mortality among the Foreign residents in Hongkong. The percentage to the population is less than any previous year in the preceding time.
88. Table XVII shows the work done by the Inspectors of Nuisances. Now that a cleanliness amendment Ordinance has been passed, and a board appointed with a fair staff of officers to look after the sanitation of the Colony, it is to be hoped that in future years we may have to record an improved state of things. It has been a hard fight for the Surveyor General and myself for many years to prove that the state of things so well described in Mr. CHADWICK's report existed at all except in our imaginations, and it was not until he was sent out as Sanitary Commissioner and sent in his report...
Fevers
Fevers
"Even assuming the absence of certain forms of disease, and a comparative immunity from "epidemics, there is no ground for the assertion that the violation of the laws of health is not punished, in China as elsewhere, with a general lowering of vital condition, and not only by intermittent "scourges of epidemic disease
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"It is stated that hitherto Hongkong has escaped the epidemies which have affected other places in the neighbourhood. The settlement is but 40 years old, and the subsoil beneath the city may not "yet be sufficiently saturated with filth to make it a hot bed for disease and a breeding ground of filth poison. It is somewhat premature to assume that this happy immunity will always continue, for "the process of saturation is slowly but surely going on, and if unchecked cannot fail to bring forth "abundant fiuit in the form of misery and disease
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84. Concerning the amount of Typhoid or Enteric Fever that occurs among the Chinese in China I know little That it is well known and recognised by medical men in some of the European settlements is proved by their reports. That it is well known here is also proved by the deaths registered among Europeans That it is to be easily acquired I have proved in my own person, as, after my inspections of the Chinese quarters of Victoria in 1875, I was seized with a very severe attack of this disease and was delirious for eighteen days. In my report for 1881, I gave a table of the death rates among Europeans and Chinese, as registered here, from causes which may arise from filth poison, pointing out that in these diseases there are many characteristics which may cause Chinese native doctors to confuse one with another I now give the table of the death rate from these diseases as registered for the past ten years, from which it will be seen that in the last six years there has been a considerable increase in deaths from these causes
Deaths among Chinese
1873
1874
1875
1876 1877
1878 1879
1880 1881 1882
Enteric
12
125
31
94
145
89
116
309
438
679
Simple continued
96
46
291
243
370
481
733
373
168
71
(Typhus..
+
16
2
8
33
21
38
Diarrhoea
195
231
288
259
311
701
608
348
435
465
Deaths among Europeans
1873
1874
1875 1876 1877 1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
Enteric
Simple continued
1
1
10
******
Typhus
2
4
Diarrhoea
17
17
18
14
10
3
1
2
10
15
21
12
17
13
I
1
14
10
10
13
85 That this class of cases should be steadily increasing year after year is proof enough that there is something radically wrong somewhere, and Mr CHADWICK's and my own reports of the state of the Chinese houses in this city give sufficient evidence that there is every reason to believe much of it is caused by the foul and unwholesome state of these dwellings.
86 This year we have had cholera epidemics carrying off thousands in Japan and Manila, which are both within a week's journey of us That we have escaped, considering the amount of traffic passing from these countries through this port, is something for the Colonists to be thankful for, but not to crow about, for we have done nothing to deserve such fortune.
87. Table XVI shews the rate of mortality among the Foreign residents in Hongkong. The percentage to the population is less than any previous year in the preceeding time.
88 Table XVII shews the work done by the Inspectors of Nuisances Now that a cleanliness amendment Ordinance has been passed, and a board appointed with a fair staff of officers to look after the sanitation of the Colony, it is to be hoped that in future years we may have to record an improved state of things It has been a hard fight for the Surveyor General and myself for many years to prove that the state of things so well described in Mr. CHADWICK's report existed at all except in our imaginations, and it was not until he was sent out as Sanitary Commissioner and sent in his report
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