ENG-1953 — Page 120

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1953

certainly, in part, accounted for by the fact that 96% of the total births were attended either by a registered midwife or a medical practitioner.

The table at Appendix XA sets forth the prevalence of, and the mortality arising from, the more important infectious diseases occurring in the Colony.

Typhoid Fever. As already mentioned, this infection caused grave concern and the degree of concern may be gauged from the figures quoted below:

Year

Cases Deaths

Case fatality rate

1946

221

115

52%

1947

246

61

24.8%

1948

311

69

22.2%

1949

408

89

21.8%

1950

907

160

17.6%

1951

1,024

134

13.1%

1952

1,230

158

12.8%

1953

1,434

128

8.9%

Consideration of these figures will leave little doubt that unless radical change is effected in the unfavourable circumstances at present prevailing in the Colony, a further increase in incidence may be expected next year, which may well necessitate special steps being taken, in the middle of the year when the peak incidence may be expected, to provide special hospital accom- modation for these cases.

Public health staff concentrated their activities on the supervision of food handling practices but the magnitude of this problem was such at to make it clear that rapidly bene- fical results from this approach could not be expected, and it was decided to resort, in addition, to protective inoculation

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