Press Release
Department of Health releases report on infectious diseases statistics in Hong Kong
January 2, 2003
Hong Kong has made remarkable achievements in the prevention and control of infectious diseases over the past decades.
This remark was made by Dr Tsang Ho-fai, Consultant (Community Medicine) of the Department of Health (DH) while announcing the release of the topical health report (No. 2) today (January 2).
The report is published by DH and will be sent to all registered doctors to help them understand more about infectious disease trends over the years.
Presenting an overall view of 27 notifiable infectious diseases between 1946 and 2001, the topical health report will provide doctors with valuable data for their clinical work and research.
Dr Tsang noted that DH's infectious disease registry had a long history. It provides an effective surveillance system to monitor the trends of important infectious diseases.
He said that the implementation of comprehensive immunization programmes with high coverage rates had led to a marked decrease or elimination of several major infectious diseases in Hong Kong over the years.
"Members of the public are now much better protected against tetanus, measles and pertussis, while local cases of acute poliomyelitis and diphtheria have disappeared in the territory for many years."
"Poliomyelitis used to be a public health problem causing morbidity and mortality in the 1950s and 1960s," Dr Tsang said. "With the introduction of oral polio vaccine in 1963, the number of cases had dropped dramatically. The last case of poliomyelitis due to wild type was reported in 1983."
Diphtheria and tetanus have been brought under control gradually since their inclusion in the childhood immunization programme in 1956.
Dr Tsang said the introduction of measles vaccine in the childhood immunization programme since 1967 has contributed to the drastic reduction in morbidity and mortality due to measles.
Besides vaccine-preventable diseases, some dangerous infections such as plague and rabies have ceased to occur. The last local case of plague and rabies was reported in 1929 and 1981 respectively.
However, Dr Tsang said that the control of food borne diseases and tuberculosis (TB) would require sustained efforts and vigilance.
"Globalisation of food supplies and changing eating habits are altering the patterns of foodborne diseases."
"Despite the extremely low mortality rate, the notification rate of food poisoning is generally on the rise, from 3.91 per 100 000 population in 1991 to 9.98 per 100 000 population in 2001."
The Government will strengthen publicity and education on food hygiene to promote public awareness in this aspect and for protection of public health.
As for TB, Dr Tsang said the disease is still an important public health problem over the world.
Hong Kong has been successful in reducing the number of TB cases over the past 50 years. Nonetheless, sustained effort and close collaboration among different sectors are necessary to maintain the success of the local TB control programme.
Dr Tsang also saw dengue fever as an emerging threat. He pointed out that Hong Kong is a receptive area for dengue fever due to the presence of a mosquito vector, Aedes Albopictus. Geographically, Hong Kong is also next to many countries where dengue fever is endemic.
He concluded that the most effective and proven ways to prevent infectious disease are to observe good personal, food and environmental hygiene, and to receive vaccinations recommended by DH.
The Topical Health Report No. 2 will be uploaded on DH's homepage This link will open in a new windowhttp://www.info.gov.hk/dh/diseases today.