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VOLUNTARY NOTIFICATION OF CONSUMPTION.
PUBLIC HEALTH (TUBERCULOSIS) REGULATIONS, 1908.
The Voluntary Notification of Consumption was in the first instance put
into force for a period of 12 months from the 1st January, 1904, the fees to
be paid being the same as for the notifiable diseases; it has been extended from
time to time, on the last occasion for three years 1909-11 inclusive.
As a large proportion of the voluntary notifications formerly received were
Poor Law cases, the great majority are now compulsory notifications under the
Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1908. Excluding many duplicate
notifications, there were 170 cases notified; 61 belonging to St. Giles and
Bloomsbury and 109 to the Holborn District. The corresponding numbers for
the year 1909 were respectively 342, 116 and 226.
Of the total number 170 notifications received, 94, or 52 per cent.were
residents of common lodging houses, and were all at once or soon afterwards
removed to workhouse infirmaries. With few exceptions the remaining 76 lived
in tenement houses. 41 of these were soon removed to infirmaries or hospitals so
that only 18 remained at home, and some of these had previously been in
sanatoria or infirmaries.
In previous Annual Reports I gave details as to the action that is taken
and the various results that were obtained from the enquiries made. I may
however, remind the Council that a printed leaflet on the Prevention of Consumption,
giving instructions for measures to be taken to prevent the spread
of the disease, is left in all cases occurring in tenement houses.
After death, or removal to infirmary or hospital, disinfection is advised
Consent for this was obtained in 76 cases.