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teams would deal with homebound people, whilst hospitals and prisons would man
their own centres. Happily the necessity did not arise for these arrangements to be
put into force, but the scheme remains organised in every detail, and can be put
into operation forthwith should the necessity arise.
I am pleased to report that there was only one confirmed case of poliomyelitis
in the Borough during 1961. It was found to be of the non-paralytic type.
Smallpox
There were no cases of Smallpox in the Borough during the year under review.
Tuberculosis
Ten years ago the principles of modern treatment for tuberculosis were in
their infancy and were applied to a minority of cases only. These methods of
treatment are now well tried and established, forming a major part of the work of
the Hammersmith Chest Clinic. Every patient with active tuberculosis now receives
the benefit of treatment which very rarely fails to control a disease which previously
carried an appalling mortality rate. The number of patients on the Register of
Tuberculous persons has not materially decreased in the period 1957/61, and this
is largely because so many lives are now saved.
The problem of tuberculosis among immigrants to this country has received
wide publicity in recent years. During a six month period in 1953/54 the London
County Council conducted a survey into this problem and found that in the whole
of the County Council area only 26 persons coming into the country during the
preceding six months were notified as suffering from tuberculosis, out of a total of
2,256 notifications. It was considered likely that 16 of these people were infected
before arrival. The contribution of Hammersmith to this figure was one patient.
Although it has been suggested in many quarters that the problem of
tuberculosis is fast becoming unimportant, this is a very short sighted and unwarranted
view. It still provides a large proportion of the work in the Chest Clinic
and many tragic cases are still seen. The condition is aggravated by poor and overcrowded
housing conditions, and it must also be realised that many children are
not receiving B.C.G. vaccination as recommended, and therefore remain at serious
risk from the ever-present pool of tuberculous infection which will not be finally
eradicated unless Tuberculous individuals, on their own initiative, present themselves
for a complete course of treatment. This risk is clearly indicated by the
following table which shows that nearly half of notifications received last year were
in the age group 15 to 34. whilst the last column in the next table shows how the
number of cases on the Register remains fairly constant.