92
HEALTH
Diphtheria continued to occur mainly among children under 10 years of age, predominantly within the 'pre-school' age-group. The annual inoculation drive which has been in progress since 1959 continued to give encouraging results, and it is gratifying to record that there has been a steady decline in the number of cases notified annually; in 1970 only 43 cases were recorded compared with 2,087 cases in 1959.
!
Measles is most prevalent among children under the age of five years and epidemics are characteristically biennial. In Hong Kong during epidemics the disease is usually associated with high mortality due mainly to complicated bronchopneumonia encountered too late for treatment to be effective. A Colony-wide immunisation cam- paign commenced in December 1967 and was continued in the following years. The vaccine is now regularly available at government maternal and child health centres. Health education efforts at health centres are continued and parents are informed of the importance of early treatment of the disease. The disease incidence and its mortality have remained satisfactorily low in the last three years. These results were due, at least in part, to the immunisation cam- paign and the continuing health education efforts to encourage parents to seek early medical advice.
Influenza occurred only sporadically after the appearance of the epidemic in the summer of 1968. Hong Kong has been collaborating with the World Health Organisation in its surveillance programme of influenza disease, and epidemiological and laboratory information is transmitted overseas so that early preventive measures may be taken to meet the threat of new epidemics. During the year some strains of influenza A virus were isolated. They resembled the A variant prevalent in recent years.
Other communicable diseases remain at a low level, and do not constitute a major public health problem. The number of cases of infectious diseases notified in 1970 is shown in Appendix 31.
PORT HEALTH SERVICE
The Port Health Service is responsible for the enforcement of the International Sanitary Regulations as embodied in the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance and the sanitary control of
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.