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12
Tuberculosis.
The Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1952, which
revoked the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1930, came
into operation on the 1st May. These Regulations provide that
tuberculosis becomes a notifiable infectious disease under section
144 of the Public Health Act, 1936.
It is no longer necessary for a Medical Officer of Health
to keep a register of tuberculosis notifications, although it is
urged that he should do so in the same way that he keeps a
record, for his own purposes, of notifications of other infectious
diseases.
The Register of Notifications kept by the Hammersmith
Chest Clinic becomes the official register. Close co-operation
exists between the Chest Clinic and the Public Health Department
in connection with all matters concerning the well-being
of Dr. Stradling's patients.
The number of new cases notified during the year was 194
as against 208 for the previous year. There was a decrease of
thirteen in the number of pulmonary cases notified and one less
in the number of non-pulmonary cases.
In my Annual Report for 1948, when the number of cases
notified for that year was 187, I reported that it was reasonable
to suppose that the expected post war drop in the incidence of
this disease had begun. It is regretted, however, that although
in 1950 there was no increase, the fall has not materialised. The
total notifications for this year is only seven above that of 1948,
but the fact is that there has been no substantial fall in the post
war incidence of the disease.
In the statistical supplement will be found a chart shewing
the number of new cases of tuberculosis notified during the past
20 years.
Tuberculosis still remains a serious menace to public health
and affects largely those age groups which are of the greatest
value to the productive capacity of the nation and has a serious
influence on the industrial life of the people.
Although high priority is given by the housing authorities
in re-housing tuberculous persons, the acute housing shortage
results in inevitable difficulty in obtaining satisfactory homes at
the right rent for the tuberculous and their families.
The number of deaths from tuberculosis was 43 as compared
with 44 for the previous year.
Mass Radiography.
The campaign for the early detection of tuberculosis was
continued during the year by the establishment of a Mass X-Ray
Unit of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board
at Olympia from the 29th July to 13th August.