XN000022-1988-04-29 — Page 9

8

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1988

FIGHT AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS SUCCESSFUL

THE YEAR 1987 MARKED ANOTHER YEAR OF SUCCESS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS AND THORACIC

CONTINUING

DISEASES, THE DIRECTOR OF

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES, DR K.L. THONG, SAID TODAY (FRIDAY).

SPEAKING

IN

HIS

OF THE

AS PRESIDENT

HONG KONG CAPACITY HEART DISEASES ASSOCIATION AT ITS ANNUAL TUBERCULOSIS, CHEST AND

WAS AT ONE TIME GENERAL MEETING, DR THONG SAID TUBERCULOSIS, WHICH THE NO. 1 KILLER DISEASE IN HONG KONG, HAD BEEN EFFECTIVELY CONTAINED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS AND ITS INCIDENCE CONTINUED TO DROP IN 1987.

DURING THE YEAR, RECORDED, HE SAID.

A TOTAL OF

7,269

NEW

NOTIFICATIONS

WERE

YEAR,

FIGURE IN THE PREVIOUS

THE NOTIFICATION RATE, FROM

COMPARED TO THE CORRESPONDING THIS REPRESENTED A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN 134.3 CASES PER 100,000 POPULATION IN 1986 TO 129.5 IN 1987.

LOW AND WAS AT THE SAME TIME, THE DEATH RATE REMAINED DECLINING, FROM 7.4 PER 100,000 POPULATION IN 1986 TO 7.2 PER POPULATION IN 1987.

FOR

STILL 100,000

ROOM AND CONTROL

DESPITE THE ENCOURAGING SIGNS OF SUCCESS, DR THONG SAW NO

ALL THE COMPLACENCY, NOTING THAT

PREVENTIVE

PROGRAMMES WERE STILL ACTIVELY MAINTAINED.

TUBERCULOSIS WITH THE BRITISH MEDICAL RESEARCH

THE ON

PREVENTION AND CURE OF RESEARCH WORK

BE

VIGOROUSLY PURSUED

COLLABORATION CONTINUES TO CARDIO-THORACIC EPIDEMIOLOGY GROUP OF

IN

THE

COUNCIL.

ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS BOTH NEW AND

"AN IMPORTANT STUDY WAS UNDERWAY TO A D EFFICACY OF CERTAIN NEW DRUGS IN THE TREATMENT OF OLD CASES OF TUBERCULOSIS," HE SAID.

TURNING TO LUNG CANCER, DR THONG SAID DEATHS REPORTED IN 1987, 117 MORE THAN IN 1986.

THAT THERE WERE 2,465

ACCEPTED BY THE HE NOTED THAT SMOKING HAD BEEN WELL PROFESSIONALS AND HEALTH AUTHORITIES ALL OVER THE WORLD AS THE MOST IMPORTANT CAUSE OF PREMATURE DEATH DUE TO LUNG HEART DISEASE AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE.

THE GOVERNMENT PLACED HEAVY EMPHASIS ON ANTI-SMOKING PROGRAMMES, DR THONG SAID.

MEDICAL SINGLE

CANCER, CORONARY

HEALTH EDUCATION AND

AND CONTROL, HE WAS

TO A CLEANER

AND

WITH THE SUSTAINED EFFORTS IN EDUCATION

HONG THAT

KONG COULD LOOK FORWARD CONFIDENT HEALTHIER LIVING ENVIRONMENT IN THE FUTURE.

/REFERRING TO

霄