XN000022-1984-03-30 — Page 16

FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1984 ·

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HONG KONG SPARED 'RAVAGES OF DISEASES'

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HONG KONG HAS BEEN SPARED THE RAVAGES OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES CAUSED BY PARASITES. BACTERIA AND VIRUSES ALTHOUGH IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD THESE DISEASES CONTINUE TO BE A MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEM.

<UINTHIS WAS STATED TODAY BY THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES (MEDICAL SERVICES), DR S.F. LAM AT A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY.

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HE SAID THAT THOUGH IMPROVEMENTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND NUTRITIONAL STANDARDS HAD REDUCED THE INCIDENCE OF ACUTE DIARRHOEAL DISEASES LIKE TYPHOID, PARATYPHOID AND GASTRO-INTESTINAL INFECTIONS, HONG KONG WAS EXPERIENCING A RESURGENCE OF MALARIA (A PARASITIC DISEASE) AND HEPATITIS (A VIRAL DISEASE).

+THIS IS WITHOUT DOUBT DUE TO MORE LOCALS TRAVELLING ABOUT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES, DR LAM SAID.

ON THE CURATIVE SIDE, HE SAID, THERE HAD BEEN A PROGRESSIVE DECLINE IN THE PROPORTION OF DEATHS IN INFANCY, CHILDHOOD AND EARLY ADULT LIFE OVER THE LAST FIVE DECADES.

THE GREATEST NUMBER OF DEATHS WOULD NOW BE EXPECTED TO OCCUR BETWEEN THE AGE OF 70 AND 80, THIS DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT HAS LED MANY TO INQUIRE WHETHER HUMANS MIGHT, UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS, LIVE TO BE 100 HE SAID...

IN THE PAST, 50 YEARS, SOME CHANGES OF IMPORTANCE IN THE INCIDENCE OF DISEASE MAY BE RELATED TO SOCIAL CHANGES.

+ THE SERY

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"ARE THE INCREASED USE OF ALCOHOL, ADDICTIVE DRUGS AND MOTORCYCLES BY BOTH SEXES AND OF CIGARETTES BY WOMEN, INCREASED OT INDUSTRIAL EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS, PARTICULARLY IN MEN, AND A GREATER NUMBER OF SEXUAL PARTNERS OF OPPOSITE OR THE SAME GENDER,+ THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR SAID.

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TOUCHING ON THE EFFECT OF SMOKING ON PEOPLE'S HEALTH, DR: LAM SAID AVOIDANCE OF SMOKING ALONE WOULD REDUCE THE MORTALITY FROM ALL CANCERS BY ABOUT A THIRD.

ON THE QUESTION OF DIET, DR LAM SAID WHETHER THE 20TH CENTURY DIET WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR CERTAIN DISEASES WAS STILL A MATTER FOR DEBATE.

+HOWEVER, A HOST OF SUCH DISEASES LIKE GASTRIC AND INTESTINAL CANCERS, CORONARY HEART DISEASE, HYPERTENSION, DIABETES, DIVERTICULITIS, DUODENAL ULCER AND CONSTIPATION HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO IMPROPER DIET, HE SAID.

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DR LAM ALSO SAID THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL WERE MUCH MORE EXTENSIVE THAN THE PRODUCTION OF DISEASE IN THE DRINKER HIMSELF AS THEY INCLUDED INJURIES INFLICTED UNDER ITS INFLUENCE INTENTIONALLY OR OTHERWISE ON OTHERS.

/+ON THE