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42
department of the Council as "improvers." Since 1931, 24 youths have been
accepted for employment and only one left the service on health grounds, which result
is undoubtedly very gratifying. Three are now on the permanent adult staff and two
others are eligible, but failed to pass the medical examination for entrance; they
will be re-examined in due course. Four have been certified fit for employment
in a temporary capacity only. The youths have done well in the Council's horticultural
examination, the passing of which is a condition of appointment. Fourteen
have qualified, including one first place in the examination. Of the thirteen who
entered the scheme during the first three years (i.e., 1931-4) only one has still to
qualify. In no case has a bad report been received. The youths are evidently
keen to do well and are rendering the Council good value in their work. Time lost
owing to sickness has been approximately 4 per cent., which is considered very
satisfactory.
Contact
investigation
Reference was made in the reports of 1934 (pp. 51-3) and 1935 (pp. 57-58) to
an investigation conducted by Dr. F. J. Bentley, divisional medical officer, as to
the proportion of cases of tuberculosis in which there had been known intimate
association with a previous case of the disease. This inquiry has been continued and
information is now available in respect of 5,504 cases which have undergone residential
treatment under the Council's scheme. Of these, it was noted that, in 3,814 cases
there was "no known contact" with a previous case of the disease, leaving 1,690
cases, or approximately 30.7 per cent., which exhibited contact of some sort.
These figures have again been analysed, as in the tables published in last year's
report, and confirm previous conclusions to the effect that:—
(1) Contact with a previously diagnosed case of tuberculosis in the family
is of sufficiently common occurrence in the history of new patients to stimulate
examination of contacts in the attempt to find early cases.
(2) In the age groups 16 to 30, 21 per cent. of new male positive sputum
cases and 25 per cent. of similar female cases arise from families in which there
have been recent previously known cases in parent, husband or wife, brother or
sister, or child.
(3) Approximately three-quarters of such previously known cases are
or were sufferers with positive sputum disease.
(4) Every effort, therefore, should be made to examine and supervise, over
a considerable period of time, contacts, especially—having regard to the
frequency of the disease at this period of life—young adult contacts, of living
positive sputum cases or of those recently dead from the disease.
Following-up
of discharged
cases.
Adults.—During the year investigations were made concerning the adult cases
discharged from hospitals or sanatoria in 1930; the number investigated was 3,634
including 272 non-pulmonary cases. The following table shows the result of the
enquiry and also (in brackets) the corresponding figures ascertained from last year's
enquiry into the 1929 cases:—

Particulars obtained in 1935 as to the fitness for work of the 1,367 surviving
adult patients who were discharged from treatment in 1930 show that out of a total
of 450 A and B1 cases, 70.2 per cent. were at work. The corresponding percentage
for the A and B1 cases in the 1929 group was 68.4. The percentages at work in the
other categories and also the corresponding figures for the 1929 group (shown in
brackets) are as follows:—B2, 47.6(52.2) per cent.; B3, 21.6 (38.5) per cent.; and