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THE OFFICE OF THE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE PORT.
REPORT BY DR. B. 11. MELLON, Health officer of the Port.
I. THE INSPECTION OF SHIPS ARRIVING IN PORT.
During the year 1925 the number of inward-bound ocean going vessels was 4,776 and these were all visited by the Health Officers.
Such particulars of the voyage as the ports of call, dates of departure, numbers of passengers and crews and the incidence of cases of illness or death, etc., were noted on the prescribed forms and attested by the master of the vessel as requested under Table W, Section 22 (2), of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance of 1899. Of the steamers arriving 1,946 were on the British register and 2.830 on the foreign register. River steamers from Canton, Maco and West River Ports, junks and small craft are not visited except in case of sickness or death.
Ships arriving in port with a corpse on board must obtain a permit before landing it and before this is granted enquiries are made in order to determine the cause of death. If a death occurs within ten hours of a ship's arrival in port or whilst the ship is in harbour, the body is inspected and the case is inves- tigated. If for any reason, the cause of death is doubtful the body is sent to a mortuary for further examination.
During the year 135 special visits were made to ships for this purpose, 110 permits were granted and 25 bodies sent to
the mortuary.
Seven cases of leprosy were detected amongst Chinese passengers and removed to the Leper Settlement, Canton, by the Police.
Thirty nine Chinese lunatics and two non-Chinese lunatics arrived in the Colony on board ships during the year.
Bills of Health numbering 2001 were issued.
II EMIGRATION,
The total number of emigrants was 142,598 which in spite of the disturbances in South China shows an increase of 11,616 over 1924, 21,814 over 1923 and 82,629 more than for 1919.
Two-thirds of the emigrants proceeded to the Straits Settle- ments. The numbers and destinations of the emigrants are given in Table I.
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The months of March and April were the most popular for emigration. A great falling off in numbers occurred during July and August owing to strike conditions, the emigrants being pre- vented from travelling from their homes in the country to Hongkong.
The Asiatic Emigration Ordinance (Sections 25-28) requires that all Asiatic Steerage passengers embarking on vessels bound for certain ports and the crews of these vessels, must be examined by the Health Officer prior to departure and those found medically unfit are not allowed to proceed.
The total number of rejections was 756 and the cause of their rejection is outlined in Table II. All emigrant vessels must be provided with a hospital on board, certain surgical in- struments and a supply of drugs. These are liable to inspection by the Health Officer before the ship sails.
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Asiatic emigrants are classified as follows : — (a) Free emigrants are those who pay their own fares, are under no contract of service and can return when they please. 95,440 free emigrants left during the year.
(b) Assisted emigrants to the number of 10,158 left, mainly for work in the sugar plantations of Java and Hawaii, the tin mines and rubber plantations of the Straits Settle- ments, the timber forests and oil fields of Borneo or in the nitrate deposits of certain islands in the South Seas. These men have their fares paid by their employers and are engaged by contract for one to three years.
(c) Women and children. These consist largely of the wives
and families of the emigrants.
III. QUARANTine Duty.
All vessels arriving from "infected" ports and those having infectious or suspicious cases on board, fly the "Q" flag and go to the Quarantine anchorage for examination. The number of vessels arriving in quarantine was 427 with 19.392 passengers and crews of 46,906 compared with 16,586 and 14,868 respectively last year. They underwent medical examination and vaccination when bound from a small pox infected port. The monthly returns of quarantine ships are given in Table V.
Of these 427 steamers 11 were detained in quarantine, for details see Table IV. The cause of detention was small pox in eight cases and cholera in three cases.
Fumigation and disinfection of these vessels and of the clothing and personal effects of all on board were carried out.
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