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LCQ13: Health of babies in Hong Kong
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    Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, (in the absence of the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food), at the Legislative Council meeting today (May 9):

Question:

     Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the following in each of the past three years:

(a) the respective numbers of spontaneous and induced abortions;

(b) the number of children who died before reaching the age of five, broken down by the causes of death;

(c) the number of babies who were born in Hong Kong and diagnosed as having hereditary diseases, and the percentage of such number in the number of new-born babies in that year; and

(d) the number of married couples both the husband and wife of which had undergone body check-ups before the wife became pregnant, and the measures taken by the Government to promote such check-ups?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) According to the statistics kept by the Department of Health (DH), the numbers of legal termination of pregnancy cases between 2003 and 2005 are as follows-

Year     Number of legal termination
         of pregnancy cases
2003     17 420
2004     15 880
2005     14 190

     According to the statistics of Hospital Authority (HA) hospitals, hospitals of Correctional Services Department and private hospitals, the numbers of persons (*1) related to spontaneous abortion between 2003 and 2005 are as follows-

Year     Number of persons related to
         spontaneous abortion
2003     3 033
2004     3 439
2005     3 334

(b) As compared with some major developed countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Singapore, the mortality rate of children aged under five in Hong Kong is generally on the low end.  The numbers of registered deaths of children aged under five between 2003 and 2005 are as follows-

Year     Number of registered deaths of
         children aged under five
2003     156
2004     142
2005     175

     The number of registered deaths by causes of death are tabulated according to the age groups of the children (aged under one and aged one to four) in Annex 1 and Annex 2 respectively.

(c) According to the data of the past 25 years provided by the Clinical Genetic Service of the DH, there were more than 600 types of genetic disease detected in babies born in Hong Kong.  The common ones are Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Deficiency, Congenital Hypothyroidism, Down's Syndrome, Cleft Lip and Palate, etc.

     In the past three years, the number of babies and percentage diagnosed with G6PD Deficiency or Congenital Hypothyroidism are shown in Annex 3.

     Currently, there is no data on the number of patients with Down's Syndrome and Cleft Lip and Palate for the past three years.  However, the approximate incidence rates of these diseases in Hong Kong are shown in Annex 4.

(d) In Hong Kong, the body check-up service for married couples is mainly provided by private hospitals, private medicine practitioners and the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK).

     We do not keep statistics on the number of married couples with both the husband and wife known to have undergone body check-ups before the wife became pregnant.  The numbers of persons who received pre-pregnancy check-up at the FPAHK are as follows-

Year     Number of persons
2003     4 027
2004     3 938
2005     4 357

     In addition, women health services are available in the DH's three Woman Health Centres and ten Maternal and Child Health Centres.  Such services include health promotion and disease prevention services to cater for the health needs of women at various stages as well as pre-pregnancy check-up service for women who need such service.  The Administration and the FPAHK also remind the public of the importance of pre-pregnancy check-up through various channels such as leaflets, exhibitions and other promotional activities.

Note:

(*1) The figures do not equate to the numbers of cases involved, but represent the numbers of in-patient discharges and deaths related to spontaneous abortion.

Ends/Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 13:11

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