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EXTRACTS FROM THE ANNUAL REPORT OF
Dr. H.C PRICE. Chest Physician.
FULHAM CHEST CLINIC. 114. New King's Road. Fulham. S.W.6.
INTRODUCTION.
All of us are, naturally, very pleased to hear from official sources
that the number of people who die from Tuberculosis has fallen in the
last year. In the main, this good news is due to the widespread use of
the two drugs, Streptomycin and P.A.S.
But the fall in the death rate does not mean that the problem of
Tuberculosis has been solved. Far from it. It does mean, however, that
as many of us have been saying, Tuberculosis can be wiped out in this generation.
What has to be done to do this? First and foremost, by tackling
the root cause of this disease, not just treating the people who already
have it.
Tuberculosis is an infeotious disease that can affect anyone, but we
know from experience that it is the working population who are attacked
most Young people, in particular,are very
prone to attack by Tuberculosis. From childhood to adolescence they need
extra food to cope with their growth, and good living conditions. All of
which are lacking in many cases today.
TUBERCULOSIS IN FULHAM.
Reference to the statistical table will show the total number of
notifications have fallen from 228 in 1950 to 197 in 1951, but the total
number of deaths has risen from 42 in 1950 to 49 in 1951.The considerable
fall in the number of deaths which were registered during 1950, and which
many attributed to the effects of the extensive use of streptomycin which
tended to prolong the life of otherwise hopeless cases, did not continue
durine 1951.
THE WORK OF THE FULHAM CHEST CLINIC.
GENERAL.
Further reference to the table will show that the flow of work of
the clinic has increased steadily since 1949. The fact that the attendance
of new cases has practically doubled, has been due to the increased
vigilance on the part of the clinic staff,and local general practitioners
and also to the much greater use that has been made in the last two years
of Mass Radiography.