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11
poliomyelitis but the diagnosis was not confirmed.
Paratyphoid Fever
There was one case of paratyphoid fever which occurred
in a girl of 20 who had been admitted to hospital for a throat
operation. It is thought that the infection was transmitted by
food which the patient herself took into the hospital, but this
was not confirmed.
Typhoid Fever
Two cases of typhoid fever were notified. One was
a man employed by a shipping company who had returned from
the Far East some 12 days before, and the other was a man who
had Just returned from a holiday in France and who was staying
only temporarily in Hampstead. In both cases the patients
had had symptoms of the disease before returning to England.
Tuberculosis
The number of cases of tuberculosis notified during
the year was 82 pulmonary and 13 non-pulmonary, as compared
with 108 and 9 the previous year. In addition, there were 3
cases of pulmonary tuberculosis and one non-pulmonary case
notified after death. Although the total is less than in 1957
there has been no significant change in the number of cases
notified during the past 40 years.
This does not necessarily mean that the number of
cases in the community is unchanged, because there have been
great advances in the use of X-rays (including mass miniature
radiography) and other diagnostic methods. It is probable
that the actual number of cases is less but that the ascertainment
of cases is more complete.
One somewhat disturbing point is that in common with
other areas the largest number of new notifications in males
is in men over the age of 45 years. Pulmonary tuberculosis
used to be considered as particularly affecting the young adult
and whilst this still in large measure applies to women, the
pattern in men is changing. That smoking plays a contributory
part in the causation of cancer of the lung is now beyond
doubt, its contribution to pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchitis,
which is now becoming known as the "British disease" would bear
further investigation.
Deaths from tuberculosis in all forms have shown a