View report page

Classification of New Patients.
(a) Pulmonary Tuberculosis. During the year 185 patients who
attended the Dispensary for the first time and were found to be
suffering from tuberculosis were reported by the Tuberculosis
Officer to be in the undermentioned stages of the disease at the time
of diagnosis:—
T.B. minus (sputum negative or absent) 80, or 43.2 per cent.
T.B. plus 1 (early cases, sputum positive) 9, or 4.9 per cent.
T.B. plus 2 (intermediate cases, sputum positive) 79, or 42.7 per cent.
T.B. plus 3 (advanced cases, sputum positive) 17, or 9.2 per cent.
(b) Non-Pulmonary Tuberculosis. There were 30 cases of
non-pulmonary tuberculosis in the following forms:—
Bones and joints.
Peripheral glands.
Abdomen.
Skin.
Other organs.
Examination of Home Contacts.
Tuberculosis claims its victims in early manhood and womanhood.
The source of infection of a patient, apart from the consumption
of tuberculous milk, is by contact with a person suffering
from active pulmonary tuberculosis. It is difficult to persuade
contacts, especially young adults, to submit to periodical examination.
They do not realise how important it is to detect the disease
in its early stages for a cure to be effected or to arrest the disease.
Education is, however, playing its part and the public is gradually
beginning to realise the value of contact examination. With children
it is possible in certain cases to arrange for their boarding out under
the London County Council scheme thus removing them from the
infectious atmosphere at home. Twenty-two children were so
boarded out in 1937.
The number of persons living in contact with tuberculous
patients which came to the notice of the Department for the first
time during 1937 was 662. Of this number 463 were examined at
or in connection with the Tuberculosis Dispensary during the year,
and in 13 cases found to be tuberculous there was a record of contact
with a sufferer from tuberculosis. In 3 cases the diagnosis was not
completed at December 31st, 1937. Mantoux diagnostic tests
were done in 63 cases.
Housing and Tuberculosis.
The spread of this disease by environmental causes such as
bad housing is well known. Healthy conditions with separate
bedroom accommodation for the patient is a safeguard against
other members of the family being exposed to the risk of infection.