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Deaths
As in previous years the majority of deaths occurred among men in the
older age groups, 4 were of no fixed abode resident in the London County
Council's hostel for tuberculous men at Knight's Hill. Of the total 18
deaths, 6 only were directly attributable to tuberculosis and in these
cases, for various reasons the successful application of chemotherapy had
been frustrated. Otherwise of the remaining 12, seven were over 70 years of
age with senility playing its part and of the other five tuberculosis was of
minor significance being secondary to other diseases including malignancy,
diabetes, cardio-vascular degeneration and, in two cases, suicide.
The 4 female deaths occurred in cases of long standing where permanent
lung damage had been sustained before the advent of chemotherapy and
again advancing years played a significant part. There were no deaths
from non-respiratory tuberculosis.
Respiratory Tuberculosis
The continued decrease in the number of cases occurring in the Borough
was reflected in the lower total of 60 new cases diagnosed and added to the
register during the year. Two thirds of these cases were discovered in an
early phase when not more than one third of either lung field was affectedgroup
1 in Table 1- and is a tribute to the use of chest X-ray examination at
the Chest Clinic, at hospitals and mass radiography units. Found at this
stage the disease responds quickly to treatment and usually proves curable.
Among women the annual incidence of new cases has remained unchanged
over the past 10 years - an average of 25 being added to the register- and the
yearly reduction in total incidence has occurred entirely in males. This year
there was little difference between the sexes - 33 males, 26 females being