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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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- 62 -
Incidence of tuberculosis amongst Kensington residents who
originated from areas outside England, Scotland and Wales
In my Annual Report for 1951, attention was drawn to what appeared to be a disturbing trend in the incidence of tuberculosis amongst immigrants. Since 1952, a more detailed investigation of this problem has taken place and the following table sets out the information found in 1958:-
| Country of origin | Period (in years) between entry to United Kingdom and notification of disease | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
| Australia | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| British West Indies | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |||||
| China | 1 | — | 1 | |||||||
| Cyprus | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| Egypt | - | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| France | — | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Germany | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| Gibraltar | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| India | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 5 | |||||
| Ireland | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
| Italy | - | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | ||||
| Pakistan | 2 | _ | 2 | |||||||
| Persia | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| Poland | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Spain | _ | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| U.S.A. | 1 | - | - | 1 | ||||||
| TOTALS | 27 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 71 |
Patients who had resided in London all their lives
or for at least 10 years 65
Patients who had resided in other parts of the country
all their lives prior to coming to Kensington 43
Patients from whom information concerning origin was not
obtained but where it is believed to be this country 7
Patients from Ireland who resided here at least 10 years
prior to notification 6
Patients notified abroad before coming to this country
(Ireland 8, China 1, Poland l) 10
Patients who resided here at least 10 years prior to
notifications (France l) 1
Patients from whom information concerning origin could not
be obtained 108
TOTAL 240
The investigation only covered patients newly notified or
transferring into the borough from other areas. The total of three
hundred and eleven cases surveyed differs from the total of tuberculous
patients visited in the year. The difference consisted of old cases
changing residence within the borough.
In 1951, a full survey was not made, but it was estimated that
20% of the tuberculous patients visited for the first time in that year