Annual departmental report by the Director of Medical and Health Services / Hong Kong.

  • Hong Kong. Medical Department
Date:
[1960]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual departmental report by the Director of Medical and Health Services / Hong Kong. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    arriving from that port by sea or air, but no case of the disease was detected or occurred. 112. The number of persons arriving at Lo Wu showed an increase of 33% over the previous year. The modifications to the Frontier Port, which were completed at the end of 1958 enabled a smoother traffic flow and hence there was no difficulty in coping with the increased numbers. Of the 416,133 persons entering through Lo Wu during the year 50,543 were vaccinated against Smallpox. Year Number of Persons Inspected 1950 . 1,452,698 1955 . 113,871 1959 . 416,133 TUBERCULOSIS 113. While progress in the prevention of tuberculosis in the youngest age groups has been substantial during the past ten years, morbidity in the adult groups has remained very much the same. There has been nevertheless an encouraging fall in the mortality rate and those with tuberculosis are living longer, the average age at death from tuberculosis now being 37 years whereas in 1952 it was 25 years. TABLE 6 TUBERCULOSIS Year Population Death rate per ]00,000 Percentage of total deaths Percentage of tuberculosis deaths below 5 years 1950 .. 2,265,000 144.0 17.7 38.3 1951 .. 2,013,000 208.0 20.0 34.0 1952 . . 2,250,000 158.8 18.4 34.3 1953 . . 2,250,000 130.6 16.0 36.2 1954 .. 2,277,000 126.3 14.9 31.2 1955 .. 2,340,000 120.0 14.7 28.0 1956 . . 2,440,000 107.0 13.6 25.0 1957 .. 2,583,000 103.6 13.9 21.2 1958 .. 2,748,000 83.8 11.2 19.6 1959 .. 2,857.000 76.2 10.7 19.2 114. As a result of the policy of B.C.G. vaccination of the new born, chemo-prophylaxis of tuberculin positivity naturally acquired under 3 years of age and contact examination and treatment, the death rates at 5 years of age and under have declined very sharply since 1954.