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13. Smallpox.--Smallpox which manifests itself every year during the winter months was represented by a few sporadic cases only. There were in all 15 cases and 8 deaths as compared with 270 cases and 249 deaths in 1930. In February the Sanitary Board rescinded its resolution of 1917 whereby cases of smallpox were permitted to be treated in their houses. Following the rescission there was a mass meeting of the Chinese at the Tung Wah Hospital where vigorous protests were made against the decision.
14. During the year the vaccination campaign was continued, valuable assistance being afforded by the St. John Ambulance Brigade whose officers established booths in the streets, and carried out an active propaganda advocating vaccination and revaccination with excellent results. In the last four years there have been 981,241 vaccinations, a number exceeding the present population as enumerated by the Census.
15. The General Chinese Public Dispensaries Committee recommended that the dispensaries should take a more active part in propaganda work. Arrangements were made for the Government Medical Department to co-operate by supplying material for the Committee's use.
16. Among the Chinese the opinion is prevalent that the results of treatment of smallpox by Chinese methods are superior to those by Western methods. An analysis of the statistics of (a) the Tung Wah Infectious Diseases Hospital where the majority of cases receive Chinese treatment and of (b) the Government Infectious Diseases Hospital, where Western treatment only is provided shows that this view is not correct. Calculating on the figures for the last 20 years the death rate in the Tung Wah was 46.77 per cent of the cases treated and that in the Government Hospital 14.33 per cent.
17. Plague. Plague as an epidemic disease has disappeared from Hong Kong and the same may be said of South China. The whole truth concerning the factors which have caused this disappearance is not known. The disappearance from Hong Kong may be, and probably is, to a certain extent due to the sanitary measures which have been and are being taken but this cannot be the case in many of the Chinese towns where the conditions are as they have always been.
18. There were no cases reported in the Colony during either 1931 or 1930.
19. Systematic rat catching and periodical cleansing of houses were carried out during the year. The total number of rats collected was 157,828, of which 11,520 were taken alive as compared with 141,286 and 6,756 in 1930. The number of floors cleansed was 196,912, the number in 1930 being 180,952.
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13. Smallpox.--Smallpox which manifests itself every year during the winter months was represented by a few sporadic cases only. There were in all 15 cases and 8 deaths as compared with 270 cases and 249 deaths in 1930. In February the Sanitary Board rescinded its resolution of 1917 whereby cases of smallpox were permitted to be treated in their houses. Following the rescission there was a mass meeting of the Chinese at the Tung Wah Hospital where vigorous protests were made against the decision.
14. During the year the vaccination campaign was continued, valuable assistance being afforded by the St. John Ambulance Brigade whose officers established booths in the streets, and carried out an active propaganda advocating vaccination and revaccination with excellent results. In the last four years there have been 981,241 vaccinations, a number exceeding the present population as enumerated by the Census.
15. The General Chinese Public Dispensaries Committee recommended that the dispensaries should take a more active part in propaganda work. Arrangements were made for the Government Medical Department to co-operate by supplying material for the Committee's use.
16. Among the Chinese the opinion is prevalent that the results of treatment of smallpox by Chinese methods are superior to those by Western methods. An analysis of the statistics of (a) the Tung Wah Infectious Diseases Hospital where the majority of cases receive Chinese treatment and of (b) the Government Infectious Diseases Hospital, where Western treatment only is provided shows that this view is not correct. Calculating on the figures for the last 20 years the death rate in the Tung Wah was 46.77 per cent of the cases treated and that in the Government Hospital 14.33 per cent.
17. Plague. Plague as an epidemic disease has disappeared from Hong Kong and the same may be said of South China. The whole truth concerning the factors which have caused this disappearance is not known. The disappearance from Hong Kong may be, and probably is, to a certain extent due to the sanitary measures which have been and are being taken but this cannot be the case in many of the Chinese towns where the conditions are as they have always been.
18 There were no cases reported in the Colony during either 1931 or 1930.
19. Systematic rat catching and periodical cleansing of houses were carried out during the year. The total number of rats collected was 157,828, of which 11,520 were taken alive as compared with 141,286 and 6,756 in 1930. The number of floors cleansed was 196,912, the number in 1930 being 180,952.
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