X1000306-1965-66_Part01 — Page 6

I. INTRODUCTION

The Colony of Hong Kong occupies a land area of 3981 sq. miles, and the estimated mid-year population in 1965 was 3,804,300, of which approximately 85% was concentrated in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It is a young population, 40% being below the age of 15 years and only 5% over the age of 60.

2. The general health of the population continued to be good during the year under review despite the conditions of urban over-crowding aggravated by poor hygienic conditions in pre-war tenement and other buildings in multiple occupation and by large aggregations of squatter and roof-top dwellings. Unlike previous years however there were no water restrictions and this may have partly accounted for the fact that there was no outbreak of cholera in the period under review. A reduc- tion in the number of notifications of other enteric group of infectious diseases such as typhoid and dysentery was also recorded. The Colony was in fact free from all internationally quarantinable infectious diseases.

3. While tuberculosis remains the major public health problem in the Colony, there have been fewer deaths from this and other com- municable diseases but more from the degenerative and stress diseases such as neoplasms and cerebro-vascular accidents.

4. During the year the Jockey Club Health Centre at Yuen Long and the Lady Trench Polyclinic at Tsuen Wan were opened. In addi- tion Kowloon Hospital, which had been undergoing renovation, started full-scale operation in its new role as a Tuberculosis Hospital and a convalescent annex to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. These completed projects were all parts of the Long Term Development Programme of Medical Services in Hong Kong.

5. In the following pages are reviewed the state of the public health and the more important developments in the work of the Medical and Health Department and of the major voluntary agencies which receive either capital and/or recurrent subventions from Government for the support of their medical activities. Detailed information covering all aspects of these fields is to be found in the Statistical Appendix to this report, the index to which is at page 58.

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