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By arrangement with the London County Council the facilities
of the Council's Cleansing Station at Peckham Park Road Depot
are available for the treatment of school children suffering from
this complaint.
In every case the home of the sufferer is visited and the infected
bedding and clothing are disinfected at the Council's Disinfecting
Station.
Bacteriological Examinations.
Report on Bacteriological Examinations performed during the Year
ended December 31st, 1937.
The number of specimens submitted for examination during the year was
4,702. Details as to the way in which this number was made up are appended.
Diphtheria Swabs 2,835
Percentage positive 5.4
Sputa for tubercle 1,768
13.3
Faeces for paratyphoid, etc. 6
33.3
Bloods for Widal's reaction 6
0.0
Milks, bacteriological 67
Bath waters „ 12
Ice creams „ 6
Miscellaneous specimens 2
Total 4,702
A curious feature of the specimens submitted during the last four years has
been the steady decline in the number of sputum specimens. In 1934 there were
2,648 sputum examinations, but by the end of 1937 the annual number had fallen
to 1,768 or 880 less than in 1934. The fact that the total numbers of examinations
are well sustained is purely owing to the increase of diphtheria swabs and other
specimens of a more complicated nature.
In view of the prevalence of Sonne dysentery in the country at large, it is
interesting to note that none of the samples of faeces submitted in this Borough
were found to contain the dysentery bacilli, nor were any typhoid bacilli found,
the only organism of this description found being paratyphoid "B" on two
occasions in the same patient.
GUY BOUSFIELD, M.D.Lond., Borough Bacteriologist.
Tuberculosis.
During the year under review 296 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis
and 55 of non-pulmonary tuberculosis were formally notified
under the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1930
In cases where a positive sputum report was received from the
Bacteriologist and the patient was not notified within a reasonable
period, the medical practitioner was requested to formally notify
the case.
The number of cases which came to light otherwise than by
formal notifications comprised 33 transfers from other boroughs,
15 posthumous notifications and 14 non-notified deaths from the
registrars'returns.
The ratio of non-notified tuberculosis deaths to the total
tuberculosis deaths for 1937 was 1 to 14.7 as compared with 1 to 10.2
in 1936.