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PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS
The Mass X-ray Unit No. 5b from the North West Metropolitan
Regional Hospital Board visited the Borough in October.
For the first time in Hornsey the Unit was in a true sense mobile and
contained its own office accommodation. It was, therefore, able to visit
seventeen different sites in the Borough; eight of these were visited in
one day in a street-to-street survey in the Finsbury Park Ward. Also
for the first time there was no separation of the sexes and it was possible
for people to attend in family groups. As appointments were not necessary
there was really no excuse for people not attending. Waiting time
at the Unit was cut to an absolute minimum by the excellent organisation
of the Unit and results were received by first post the next day by people
who attended before about 5 p.m.
I am indebted to Dr. John R. Mikhail, Medical Director of the Unit
for the following figures which I have extracted from his report:—
The total number of people x-rayed in Hornsey was 4,096—3,540 at
the public sessions and 556 in organised groups from factories and
offices. Of the total number 1,934, had not been x-rayed previously and
2,845 i.e. 69.45% of those attending had not been x-rayed within the
previous three years.
Seven persons were found to be suffering from active pulmonary
tuberculosis and in need of immediate treatment (2 men and 5 women)
and 3 others were in need of occasional supervision (1 man and 2 women).

Improvements in technique have resulted in only 1.2% of persons
attending the Unit being recalled for further x-ray on a large film compared
with just over 2% previously. The proportion of active cases of
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