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35
DEATHS
During the year there were eight deaths among chest clinic patients
directly due to tuberculosis. Of these two were female - both aged over
75 years old - and each had been living under neglected conditions at home
and the disease was not diagnosed until they were admitted to hospital in
their final illness. Of the six male patients, four were residents at the Knight'’s
Hill Hostel for tuberculous men and were not normally resident in Lambeth.
There were thirteen other chest clinic patients who died during the year.
All were over 50 years of age and nine of them were over 70 years old.
Almost half of these deaths were due to bronchitis and respiratory infections,
three were caused by cancer of the lung, the rest were the result of senile
changes including cardio-vascular degeneration.
TUBERCULOSIS INCIDENCE
The number of new cases of tuberculosis is the lowest recorded in any
year. The racial origins of the 33 newly notified cases were English 18,
West Indian 8, Indian 3, Eireann 2, Nigerian 1, Italian 1. Male new
cases outnumbered females by .2 to 1.
The majority of these cases were in the older age groups,two thirds of
the men were over 50 years of age. Half the females were over 50 years old,
the other half in the 30-40 years age group.
Most cases came to light as a result of chest X-ray examinations
arranged by general practitioners referring their patients to hospital outpatient
departments and chest clinics, to mass radiography units and other
X-ray departments providing chest X-ray facilities.
Whilst contact examination continues to be a routine procedure at the
chest clinic - and during the year all known contacts were offered chest
X-ray - the number of cases so discovered is falling and of those found to
be infected most are classified as observation only - even though some may
be given prophylactic chemotherapy. There were three contacts found to have
active notifiable disease - all children in contact with the same source case.