Sessional_Paper_1903 — Page 296

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Ko TSUN was appointed Laboratory Assistant, his duties being mainly to assist me with routine pathological and bacteriological work, while Drs. LEE YIN SZE and CHAN FAI KWONG were appointed Bacteriological Assistants, and assisted me in the routine examination of rats sent to the Public Mortuary.

I take the opportunity at this point of bearing testimony to the excellent services which have been rendered by these qualified Chinese Doctors. I found them well trained and anxious at all times to take a thorough grasp of the oppor- tunities vouchsafed to them of gaining a knowledge of Pathology and Bacteriology. They grasped the somewhat delicate technique for bacteriological work with wonderful rapidity, and I have repeatedly noted the care which they bestowed on the systematic examination of enormous numbers of rats.

I regret to say that at the commencement of the Plague epidemic of 1902, the Caretaker of the Public Mortuary fell a victim to the disease.

The Assistant Caretaker was appointed in his place, and has so far performed his somewhat difficult duties with care and to my satisfaction.

It is now the practice to have all coolies connected with the Public Mortuary inoculated with plague vaccine as prepared by Professor HAFFKINE.

During the year, 2,816 human bodies were examined at the Public Mortuary. These figures, I understand, represent a number of post-mortems larger than in any previous year since the Institution was established. Further, I am sure that these figures are probably unique. I know of no institution where, given suitable accommodation, apparatus, and assistance, greater scope would be afforded for pathological and bacteriological research.

In addition to the routine post-mortem work, there have been 117,839 rats examined bacteriologically, approximately 400 rats examined daily during the year. Of these, 2,015 were found to be infected with Plague.

During the autumn of 1902, the Government Vaccine Institute was transferred from the Medical to the Bacteriological Department.

In the month of October, the management of the Institute was taken over by me from the Acting Colonial Veterinary Surgeon.

The preparation of Small-pox Vaccine was begun in the month of October. So far the vaccine sent out from the Institute has given the utmost satisfaction.

Since my arrival in the Colony, a considerable amount of pure bacteriological work has been done. Considerable difficulty was experienced, however, in obtain- ing suitable apparatus for experimental work.

During the months of May, June and July, Professor SIMPSON and I carried out a series of very extensive researches in regard to the possibility of producing Plague in all lower animals, more particularly in those animals which are closely associated with man-calves, sheep, goats, pigs, fowls, etc. The results, notwith- standing the conditions under which the experiments were performed, were of a highly satisfactory nature, and should set at rest much of the hitherto varied discussion on this subject. The details of these experiments and the interpretation of the results will of course be fully dealt with by Professor SIMPSON in his report. Had it not been for the great assistance rendered by the Principal Civil Medical Officer and the Government Analyst in supplying certain apparatus, the research could not have been carried out. During the summer a series of pathological and bacteriological examinations were made at the Dairy Farm, Pokfulam, and the Kennedy Town Slaughter houses, on cattle suffering from what appeared to me to be a form of Septicemia Hæmorrhagica.

What has been felt during the past year is the want of a properly equipped and centrally situated Bacteriological Institute. As already mentioned, the Medical Department has allowed me part of the office and the dispensary in Kennedy Town Hospital. Any bacteriological research which one may propose to undertake has to be done there, and this Hospital can be shown to be a most inconvenient place for carrying out bacteriological work. In the first place, there is no accommoda- tion, and secondly it is very inaccessible owing to its distance from the other branches of the Department, namely, the Vaccine Institute and the Public Mortuary. It has been a matter of regret that, owing to these circumstances, the preparation of plague vaccine and serum, &c., has been quite out of the question. At the present time, however, I am glad to be in a position to state that a con- venient site has been obtained for a Bacteriological Institute. Its completion is now only a matter of time.