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Report of the Medical Officer of Health. 161
Classification of Tuberculous Cases.
Table LXXXI. shows the tuberculous cases classified according
to the site of the lesion.
Of the 343 cases, 286 had Pulmonary Tuberculosis, and 57
Tuberculosis of some other part of the body. 47 of the latter were
under the age of 15.
The Table shows that in early childhood, organs other than the
lungs are commonly affected with Tuberculosis, and that in adult
life, the disease is much commoner in the lungs than elsewhere.
Of the 286 cases of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, 141 had tubercle
bacilli in the sputum, 67 had no tubercle bacilli, while in 78 there was
no sputum available for examination.
The pulmonary cases can be roughly classified according to
the duration of the symptoms at the time of the first examination.
Of the 286 cases, symptoms had been present for more than one year
in as many as 194, or 67.8 per cent. and for less than one year in 92.
Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis, who have been ill so
long as one year have less chance of benefitting from treatment
than those that have been ill for a short period.
A considerable number of last year's patients were in an
advanced stage when first seen.
It is hoped that in future, the number of these will diminish,