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per 1,000 per annum. The death rate from Phthisis, or the pulmonary
form of Tuberculosis, for the year 1919 was 1.4, and this
has shown a steady decrease during the last 10 years, with the
exceptions of the years 1915 and 1917, when there was a slight
increase. This death rate, however, does not give a fair indication
of the amount of disablement which is caused by Tuberculosis,
since the illnesses due to this disease are usually very
protracted, and people may go about for a considerable portion of
their lives suffering from the more or less crippling effects of
Tuberculosis.
The following table will give some idea of the general
prevalence: —
1919.
1. Number of Primary Notifications 500
2. Number of deaths from Tuberculosis 233
3. Death rate per 1,000 per annum 1.9
4. Number of cases removed to Sanatoria 153
5. Estimated number of contacts 2000
The number of notifications, of course, does not represent
the total number of cases of Tuberculosis existing in the borough
at any one time. It is difficult to arrive at a correct figure, but I
think one would be justified in stating that the number of cases
of Tuberculosis in the Borough at any one time is somewhere
between 750 and 1,000.
For Administrative, as distinct from clinical purposes, it is
convenient to classify patients as follows: —
(A.) INSURED PERSONS. These may be sub-divided into:
(1). Men.
(2). Women.
Insured persons are under the care of the London Insurance
Committee, who have contracts with three different bodies,
according to the nature and stage of the disease. Early eases
requiring sanatorium treatment are dealt with, under agreement,
by the London County Council. Cases requiring domiciliary treatment
are at present attended to by the panel doctors and the
Tuberculosis Dispensary, and cases requiring special treatment
are sent to one of the hospitals. Surgical cases are generally
admitted free to one of the large general hospitals, and cases for
observation, or any other purpose to one of the Hospitals for consumption,