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Fortunately, as a result of a closer liaison with head-teachers
in the Borough many small outbreaks of dysentery have been
quickly brought under control. A feature, however, which is of
concern is the increasing number of organisms which are found to
be resistant to a wide range of antibiotics.
Road Accidents
If there had been 72 cases of poliomyelitis in the Borough it
would have been considered a serious outbreak and the public would
quite rightly wish to take every step to prevent it. There was,
however, an epidemic of road accidents involving 72 children —an
epidemic of just as serious a nature from which one can certainly die.
During 1958 there were 1,132 accidents, resulting in personal
injury to 395 people. Of these, three died, and a further 58 suffered
serious injury. Oblivious to the trail of sorrow and hardship that
accompanies these casualty figures, it is easy for one to dismiss them
as mere statistics! In no less than 753 instances the cause of the
accident was said to be due to errors of judgment which is more
significant still when read in conjunction with the report of the
medical officer of a transport organisation which indicated that, of
applicants to drive, 50 per cent, at interview, were rejected as
unsatisfactory and that 20 per cent of the remainder were found to
be medically unfit, more than half because of defective vision.
Lung Cancer
Cancer of the lung still takes its toll. Since 1950, when the
connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer was first
demonstrated, over 100,000 deaths have occurred in Britain from
this disease.
Each year the tobacco companies spend £2,000,000 in making
their products known to the public; this excludes the money spent
on commercial television. Highly competent advertisers are paid
fabulous sums to delude the public into a sense of complacency.
Yet, as the deaths due to lung cancer rise to 33% of all males, the
Treasury collects £700,000,000 in tax from the victims of this
addiction and are too mean to offer more than a pittance towards
health education and research.
As recent research has shown that less than 35% of the cases
discovered are considered operable, few of the victims of smoking
are able to make much comment by the time they know the consequences
of addiction. Out of every 100 cases diagnosed not more
than 5 or 6 will be alive in 5 years time and it is estimated that a
further million victims will die of this disease before the end of the
century.
Preventable Deaths
Approximately 45 persons lose their lives every day in Great
Britain as a result of accidents; seventy per cent of these are said to
be sustained by old people, approximately two thirds of these being
women.