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THE OFFICE OF THE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE PORT.
REPORT BY DR. B. H. MELLON. Health Officer of the Port.
1. THE INSPECTION OF SHIPS ARRIVING IN PORT.
During the year 1926, the number of inward bound ocean going vessels was 3,930 and these were all visited by the Health Officers.
Such particulars of the voyage as 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 required under Table W. Section 22 (2) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance of 1899. Of the steamers arriving 1,686 were on the British register and 2,244 on the foreign register. River steamers from Canton, Macao and West River ports, junks and small craft are not visited except in cases of sickness or death.
Ships which arrive with a corpse on board must obtain a permit in order to land it and before this is granted enquiries are made to determine the cause of death. If 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 investigated. 1 the cause of death is doubtful the body is sent to a mortuary for further examination.
During the year, 189 special visits were made to ships for this purpose, 134 permits were granted and 34 bodies sent to the mortuary. Nine cases of leprosy were detected amongst Chinese passengers. Forty four Chinese lunatics arrived in the Colony during the year. Bills of Health numbering 1,602 were issued.
II. EMIGRATION.
The total number of emigrants examined was 227,425 which shows an increase of 84,827 over 1925, 96,443 over 1924 and 167,456 over 1919. Doubtless, the disturbances in South China are responsible for the increased numbers leaving the country.
The great majority of the emigrants proceeded to the Straits Settlements. Table I shows the number and destinations of the emigrants. The months of March, April and May proved to be the most popular for emigration. During February the smallest number departed owing to the occurrence of the Chinese New Year Festivities in that month. Table II gives the number of emigrants that sailed each month. The Asiatic Emigration Ordinance, Sections 25-28, requires that all Asiatic steerage
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passengers embarking on vessels bound for certain ports and the crews of these vessels must be examined by the Health Officer and those found medically unfit are not allowed to proceed.
The number of rejections during the year was 826 and the cause of rejection is outlined in Table III. All vessels carrying emigrants must be provided with a hospital, certain surgical instruments and a supply of drugs. These are liable to inspec- tion by the Health Officer prior to the ship's departure. British ships entering the port may also be required to produce their medicine chests for inspection.
Asiatic emigrants are classified as under:-
(a) Free emigrants who pay their own fares. 168,541 free
emigrants left during the year.
(b) Assisted emigrants to the number of 13,828 sailed mainly to work in the rubber plantations and tin mines of the Straits Settlements, the sugar plantations of Java and Hawaii, 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.
(c) Women and children. These consist largely of the wives
and families of the emigrants.
111. 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 1,006 with 132,830 passengers and crews of 115,961 compared with 427 vessels 49,392 passengers and crews
year. of 46,906 last
They underwent medical examination and vaccination in addition if bound from a small- pox infected port. The monthly return of quarantine ships are given in Table V.
Of these 1,006 steamers, 13 were detained in quarantine. For details, see Table IV. The cause of detention was small-pox in eight cases and cholera in five. Fumigation and disinfection of these vessels and of the clothing and personal effects of all on board were carried out.
were
Medical supervision of the passengers and crew during the period of quarantine and vaccination when necessary attended to before pratique was granted. One hundred and thirty- one cases of infectious disease were investigated and found to be due to non-quarantinable diseases. These were dealt with in the usual manner. This involved the examination of a large number of sick persons and many special visits to ships in the Harbour.
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