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14
Thus the fact that only 74 deaths, or 36.6 per cent. occurred
at home out of a total of 202, is entirely misleading in that the
remaining number of cases under treatment in institutions at the
time of death by no means represents cases rendered harmless by
removal to an institution.
A fact that conveys a more accurate idea of the conditions
existing that help to spread infection is that out of the total
number of deaths from pulmonary tuberculosis 138 or 68.3 per
cent. were unable to secure a separate bedroom during the course
of treatment at home. These figures are, however, a considerable
improvement on last year, and it is due mainly to the personal
exertions of the Tuberculosis Visitors that there has been improvement
in this respect. All the cases under treatment at the
dispensaries, or at one time under treatment at the dispensaries,
had a sputum examination carried out, and it is therefore known
that as regards 64 of the cases who did not have even a bed to
themselves, tubercle bacilli were present in the sputum. Here
again the Tuberculosis Visitors have spared no pains, however
adverse the conditions, to prevent the spread of infection.
A further point of great interest and importance is the stage
of the disease at the first attendance of the patients who came
under dispensary treatment and died during the year.
There were 113 deaths among dispensary patients and 57 of
these patients or 50.4 per cent. were in the final stage of the
disease on first attendance, 47 patients or 41.6 per cent. were in the
second stage. It also appears from an examination of the case
papers, that 36 of these cases or 31.8 per cent. had been suffering
from this disease for a period varying between three to twelve
months, but a great many had evidently been ill for a far longer
period, suffering evidently from tuberculosis of the lungs as shown
by the fact of the history of such conditions as pleurisy and
haemorrhage, etc., manifestations which were in all probability