ENG-1966 — Page 153

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HEALTH

Malaria control in the urban areas is based chiefly on anti-larval measures consisting of draining and clearing streams, ditching and oiling. Areas at present under active control consist of the populated portion of the whole of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon, extending from Kwai Chung in the west to Lei Yue Mun in the east. In addition, Cheung Chau Island and Rennie's Mill in the New Territories are similarly protected. Anti-malaria oil continued to be employed as the main larvicide but malathion, diazinon and gamma-BHC were used on a limited scale in areas where the application of oil was not suitable. These anti-larval operations against anopheline breeding afford protection from the infection to approximately 80 per cent of the Colony's population. None of the few cases appearing in the urban areas during the year could be attributed to breakdown of these control measures. In the remainder of the New Territories, where the background is essen- tially rural, the adoption of either anti-larval or anti-adult measures is not feasible at present, and chemoprophylaxis remains the main protection against malaria. From 1st April 1966 responsibility for all mosquito control work was transferred from the Medical and Health Department to the pest control section of the Urban Services Department. Purely medical or clinical aspects of the service, such as malaria surveys and chemotherapy, remain the responsibility of the Medical and Health Department.

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Diphtheria continued to occur mainly among children under 10 years of age. An immunization campaign has been in progress since 1959, interrupted only by the need for anti-poliomyelitis, cholera and other prophylactic mass inoculation campaigns. House-to-house visits are conducted in resettlement estates and other crowded areas, and teams of inoculators visit squatters both on hillsides and on rooftops. Every effort is made to inform parents of the disease and of facilities available for the protection of their children, and as a result there has been a steady and sustained decline in the incidence of the disease, with only 307 cases recorded in 1966, representing 14.71 per cent of the 1959 incidence. The case fatality rate was 8.79 per cent in 1966, most deaths occurring in non-immunized children who showed advanced laryngeal or pulmonary complications due to delay in seeking proper medical attention.