causing considerable difficulty in providing parallel public health services as the health staff is insufficient and too thinly spread. Sha Tin and Cheung Chau received government mains water supply for the first time during the year.
17. The work of Maternal and Child Health Centres showed a considerable increase and reveals a gradual apprecia- tion of their value by people of the remoter villages.
18. A semi-official census of the population was under- taken by the Rural Committees on behalf of the District Administration. Figures resulting, though not yet complete, have given useful information on the age and sex distribution, especially in Tsuen Wan.
Epidemiology.
19. Though the total of 18,142 notifications of infectious diseases received in the year was higher than in 1954 the increase is entirely attributable to the rise in the number of Tuberculosis notifications.
20. Deaths due to infectious diseases were, however, fewer than in the previous year. The mortality rate for communi- cable disease has been dropping steadily since 1950 as is shown in the following table:
Infectious
TABLE 1
Total No. of
Year
Beatles froma
Tofectiou
Mortality
Disease Caney
Disepe
1950
12,532
4,800
30.3
1951
18,162
4,599
26.3
1952
19,938
4,060
20.3
1953
17,319
3,348
17.3
1954
17,008
3,276
19.3
1956
18,142
4.DYS
17.1
10
21. There has been a satisfactory decrease in the intestinal group of these diseases, particularly enteric fever. Preventive measures against this disease received special attention through- out the year: supervision of eating houses and food handlers, tracing and checking of typhoid carriers, inoculation campaigns and health education combined with sanitary housing in reset- tlement arcas all helped to reduce the incidence and deaths due to typhoid fever to the lowest recorded since 1950.
22. Diphtheria notifications also showed a considerable decrease of 23.9% compared to 1954. The case mortality rate of this disease was 8.45%, the lowest so far recorded. An anti- diphtheria inoculation campaign directed at children between 6 months and 10 years of age showed good results: a total of 99,448 first doses. 83,647 second doses and 46,144 "booster" doses was given in the year.
23. 51 cases of acute poliomyelitis with 3 deaths were notified. This compares favourably, as regards mortality, with 49 cases and 9 deaths the previous year. 26 of the cases oc- curred in the month of June, and 16 cases were non-Chinese- mostly Services personnel or their families.
24. The incidence of Scarlet Fever, a rare disease in the Colony, was a good deal higher than previously recorded. Most of the cases were of a mild type and 40% of them occurred in non-Chinese.
25. 3 cases of rabies occurred in the New Territories. None had received any prophylactic treatment as they were not reported until symptoms had developed and all died soon after admission to hospital. when the diagnosis was confirmed by laboratory examination. There were 11 cases of animal rabies. Persons bitten by these animals were traced, all completed a full course of prophylaxis and none developed the disease.
26. Appendix 2 shows a detailed list of notifications and deaths from infectious disease in 1955.
Port Health.
27. The Port Health administration is responsible for the prevention of the import of quarantinable diseases into the
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