Hong Kong has transformed from being one of the unhealthiest places in the world to one with the best health statistics. This volume is published to mark the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences and the centenary of the Old Bacteriological Institute building that houses the museum. This history covers Hong Kong's medical development in the period from 1841 to early 2005, including the history of hospitals and of medical education, and the role of the Bacteriological Institute. It is a record of how the health care system has evolved and how the territory has been able to cope with the massive increase in population. Along the way, it relates the story of how Hong Kong met the challenge of containing infectious diseases and shows that much can be achieved despite the city's limitations in size and resources. With numerous colour and black-and-white photographs, a chronology, the names of the chiefs of health agencies from 1843, some tables and statistics, and an index.