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" The loss sustained by a community in consequence of
" this disease is more readily appreciated when we consider
" that for every death recorded there are many more persons
" living affected with the disease. As the disease usually exists
" in a chronic form, the expenses of a long illness must press
" severely upon the resources of the family of the patient, thus
" depriving many a family of its means of support and
" eventually bringing the sufferer and those dependent upon
" him to seek financial help and the necessities of life from the
" more fortunate members of the community through the
" medium of the Poor Law Guardians.
" Compulsory notification as a means of prevention
" requires serious consideration. It is suggested by many that
" this disease should be added to the list of notifiable diseases,
" and that the sections of the Public Health (London) Act
" relating to infectious diseases should then apply to
" consumptives.
" Owing to the totally different character of this disease
" compared with those already notifiable, compulsory notification
" would be irksome and prove a great hardship to many
" sufferers, and would also present many difficulties in adminis.
" tration. If compulsory notification were adopted power
" should be obtained by a statutory measure, which would
" provide for the special circumstances of the disease in
" question.
" Voluntary Notification.—It has been found that only
" a very small proportion of the actual cases have been notified
" to the Medical Officer of Health under this system. Private
" medical practitioners raise the difficulty that unless legally