View report page

35
Statistics for England and Wales show that with the exception of the
war period there has been a steady and substantial decline in deaths from
Phthisis since 1847, so that at the present time the death rate among males
is half what it was at the former period, while the death rate among
females has been reduced by two-thirds. Sir George Newman, in his
Report to the Ministry of Health, ascribes this to five great influences:—
(1) The progress of sanitary reform since Sir Robert Peel's
mission in 1843; the increased attention paid to child life
and diseases predisposing to tuberculosis, and the treatment
of cases in poor law and other hospitals.
(2) Advance in social well-being and communal health from 1851
onwards.
(3) The spread of a knowledge of the contagiousness of the disease,
particularly since 1881.
(4) Special measures of prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in
recent years.
(5) An increase in the resistance of the population due to better
wages, cheaper food, better hours and a more sanitary
environment, reform in the factory system and shorter hours
of work under improved conditions and possibly an increase
in immunity in those living in large towns.
Tuberculosis still levies a heavy toll of life, and if the reduction shown
in past years is to continue, not only must the measures be continued
which have proved successful in the past, but these must be strengthened
and improved.
When the number of persons living at various age periods is known,
it will be possible to ascertain whether the improvement has taken place
at each period and what effect has been produced by alteration in the
number living in the various age groups, as compared with similar
figures at the previous Census. For example, it is obvious from the
declining birth rate which obtained for so many years that there must
be fewer persons under 20 years of age, consequently the number of young
persons liable to be infected is less. From the figures supplied me by
the Peabody Trustees it appears that the number of children under five
in their buildings in Westminster is half what it was in 1911. In view of
housing difficulties and depression in trade, the reduction is remarkable.
In a number of instances a consumptive patient in an infective condition
has had to live with his family in a couple of rooms through inability
to obtain better accommodation. This danger has been counterbalanced
to some extent by the larger number of persons who have been
admitted to institutions. Still, it is not improbable that the trying