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disease is described as "an infectious and communicable disease,
dangerous to the public health" and is not grouped with the
contagious diseases.
Facilities are given to medical men for the early diagnosis of
cases by the examination of samples of sputum in the Municipal
Laboratory.
System of
Notification
adopted at
Manchester
At Manchester, pending the approval of the
Local Government Board to Phthisis being included
amongst the diseases notifiable under the Local Act,
a voluntary system of notification is in force, medical practitioners
receiving the same fees as for other cases.
During the period from the nth September to the 30th
December, 1899, 425 cases were notified and investigated. Of
these, 365 were notified by medical men connected with public
institutions, and the remaining 60 cases were mostly notified by
Visitors of the Ladies' Health Society. Of the cases in question
231 were male patients and 194 females.
The following is the practice adopted for supervising the
cases when the patient is nursed at home. If the house is dirty
a communication is sent to the owner or agent enquiring whether
he has any objection to the house being cleansed and disinfected,
at the expense of the Corporation, by stripping and washing with
lime solution. This, according to the report of Dr. Niven, the
Medical Officer of Health, is invariably agreed to. The Health
Visitor or Sanitary Inspector pays a fortnightly visit, enquires
whether the necessary measures of precaution are being carried
out, and reports if the house is clean and free from dust. If the
house is clean, a fortnightly visit is still made, but the tenant
cleans the walls down with dough, under the supervision of the
Officer, and is requested to do so every two or three months.
Visits are paid to ensure that the cleansing is repeated. The