Colony. The work is controlled by the provisions of the Inter- national Sanitary Conventions as embodied in the amended Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance.
28. During 1955 4,073 ships carrying 54,651 passengers and 225,932 crew members were inspected on arrival in the marine quarantine anchorages. At Kai Tak Airport passengers and crews landing from infected airports are examined. 874 aircraft with 25,118 passengers and 6,210 crew members were inspected during this same period. Routine spraying with insecticide of these planes is carried out before arrival. In the frontier quarantine post at Lo Wu 113,871 arrivals by train were inspected as they entered the Colony, and of these 76,954 were vaccinated against smallpox by Port Health staff.
29. A fumigation service for ships and for outgoing cargo to destroy rats and other pests is provided. Though the use of cyanide is increasing, sulphur dioxide still remains the most commonly used agent for this purpose. In the year, 1,050 dead rats were recovered fallowing fumigation of 72 ships, 25 with cyanide and 47 with sulphur. 184 deratting exemption certi- ficates were also granted after inspection of ships.
30. 3 centres are maintained to issue official certificates of vaccination and inoculation required for international travel. The centres also provide free prophylactic vaccinations and inoculations for the general public.
31. A constant check is maintained on the purity of drink- ing water supplied to shipping. Bacteriological examination is made of samples taken weekly from all water boats and dock hydrants. 47 samples out of a total of 527 taken during 1955 did not conform to the required standard of purity, and of 82 samples taken on request from ships' tanks 22 were below desirable standards.
Tuberculosis,
32. Tuberculosis is one of the principal causes of death in the Colony, accounting for 14.7% of all deaths. The estimated death rate is 120 per hundred thousand of population as com- pared with the figure of 126 for 1954. This is a continuation
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of the steady fall which has taken place, with occasional inter- ruptions, for many years. It is of interest to record that Hong Kong has not shared the sudden drop in tuberculosis mortality which has been recorded in Western countries since 1949. Despite the unsatisfactory housing and economic conditions the percentage of the total tuberculosis deaths occurring under the age of 5 years, has for the first time on record fallen below 30%, the fall being entirely due to a drop of almost 50% in the deaths from respiratory tuberculosis in this group. Tubercular meningitis on the other hand has shown a marked increase in mortality below 5 years as well as in other age groups.
33. The incidence of tuberculosis, as shown by the notifica- tions, has shown a marked increase, the total recorded being, with the exception of 1952, the highest recorded. The Govern- ment Chest Clinics, now deal with almost 70% of the total notified cases of tuberculosis.
195/
1055
Government Chest Clinics
Other Government Institutions
7,693
9,849
1,788
1,434
Non-Government Institutions
2,474
2,352
Private Practitioners
553
519
12,508 14,148
34. Of the total tuberculosis notifications, 13,251 relate to disease of the lungs, analysis of which indicates a peak preva- lence in the 25-29 age group, with, except in infancy and old age, a preponderance in males of two to one.
35. The Medical Department operates 2 full time central clinics and 7 branch clinics each holding one session per week in the principal population centres. All diagnostic and thera- peutic work is free of charge. The increase in attendances in 1955 has been so great as to make restriction on the intake of new patients necessary until additional facilities are available.
36. Attendances at branch clinics increased to almost two and a half times the previous year's figure.
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