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1941, the urban area was, at the re-occupation, virtually overrun with rats. No adequate means of extermination were possible, and yet, by February, the rat population was estimated to have declined to below the pre-war figure, and no single evidence of plague-infection had been found. Tuberculosis, aggravated by the general malnutrition of the occupation years, presented a serious problem, rising to as high as 40% of all diseases notified; but it was not until February that the first steps towards the provision of a sanatorium were possible. Venereal disease, as was expected, had gained a serious hold upon large sections of the community, some 66% of the cases being syphilitic. Various palliative measures were immediately introduced in consultation with the services, but it was clear that until adequate supplies of penicillin and arsenical preparations were available, no compre- hensive campaign was either practicable or possible. Radical measures had, therefore, to be postponed in favour of regulations which were designed merely to prevent the spread of the disease beyond its existing limits. In the latter half of January, however, limited supplies of penicillin made possible the hospital treatment of some 70 venereal cases, The results achieved in this sadly limited sphere were excellent, but the drive had to be discontinued in February when supplies of the drug were exhausted. The declaration of venereal disease as a notifiable disease was consi- dered in consultation with representative Chinese citizens and it was decided that such a step would not be practicable under existing circumstances.
40. The rehabilitation of hospitals, clinics, dispensaries, and welfare centres proceeded satisfactorily throughout the Military period, and by February 2,269 civilian hospital beds for all pur- poses were available, as compared with a corresponding figure of 3,625 for 1941. This figure was held to be not unsatisfactory when the chaotic state of the Colony's hospitals at the re-occupa- tion, and the subsequent increase of service requirements, were considered.
41. In view of the increasing number of merchant ships entering the harbour, port health work was re-organized on its former basis during February, and a mission was sent to Canton to discuss preventive measures on the resumption of river traffic.
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42. By the end of February, the position with regard to sanitation was satisfactory, and there was little doubt that, with the arrival of experienced personnel, additional transport, and certain other supplies, the sanitary services would be functioning with their pre-war efficiency.
43. In general, the close of the Military period found the medical and sanitary organization of the Colony in a thoroughly satisfactory stage of progress, particularly when the perplexities of its early problems were remembered. Thirty-eight of the Colony's forty-three Health Districts had been re-opened and re- organized and were fulfilling their normal peace-time functions. A nutritional survey was completed, and valuable experiments in the maturing of night-soil were conducted with a view to imple- menting Government's pre-war scheme for the provision of natural fertilizers for New Territories' farmers. The Bacteriological Institutes were at work on their peace-time basis; and the regis- tration functions of the Medical Department had been fully resumed. The first large consignment of medical stores had arrived in February, and this alone may be considered responsible for a great impetus to the rehabilitation of all phases of medical work.
44. The ravages of war and the occupation were respon- sible for considerable damage being done to Government school buildings, the largest of which, King's and Queen's Colleges, and Belilios Girls School, were completely destroyed. On this count alone, the Colony lost educational accommodation for 2,400 pupils. The fifteen Grant-aided schools were found to be in satisfactory condition, since they had been in continuous occupa- tion during the war, and by the middle of October no less than twelve of them, with an enrolment of 6,000, were in normal operation. By the end of that month an additional fifty-two private and four Government schools were opened and provided instruction for some 12,000 children.
was
45. Further development of educational facilities impeded by the fact that four large schools, capable of accommo- dating some 2,700 pupils, remained under requisition by the services for the greater part of the Military period. In addition to the general lack of educational buildings and alternative accom-
Education.
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