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Photographs are reproduced facing page 34 of the B.C.G. teams in operation at schools
and of the specially designed laboratory at County Hall used for equipment preparation.
Tuberculin solution and vaccine are provided by the Ministry of Health. Co-operation
by head teachers and the Education Department has made this important preventive
measure smoothly adaptable. No untoward incidents or reactions have occurred
attributable to B.C.G. vaccination. Statistics of the year's B.C.G. work are set out on
page 46.
Preventive measures
General
X-ray examinations—Among the important preventive measures adopted by the
Council are the arrangements made usually through the mass radiography services, for
the chest X-ray of (i) newly-appointed groups of its staff who are likely to come into
close or frequent contact with children during the course of their work;
(ii) staff and senior pupils at the Council's occupation centres for mentally deficient
persons;
(iii) new residents over 15 years of age entering the Council's homeless families'
units;
(iv) positive reactors discovered among thirteen-year-old school-children tuberculin
tested with a view to B.C.G. vaccination.
In addition, upon the report of tuberculosis in any member of the Council's staff
tuberculin testing and X-ray examination is undertaken of children and young adults
thought to have been at risk in contact with the case.
A summary of the findings of such incidents is given in Table T.8, page 40.
Chest X-ray examination is arranged through the Council's maternity centres for all
expectant mothers. The Health Department advises the Children's Officer of the
suitability of prospective adopters of children when they (the prospective parents) give
a history of past tuberculosis. The department advises the Housing Department on the
justification or need for rehousing crowded tuberculous families.
Mass radiography
X-ray
surveys
In past reports I have recorded the findings of X-ray examinations at mass X-ray
units situated or operating in London but examining persons living anywhere. Those
figures did not relate to London populations and could not reliably be compared with
county statistics.
This year, for the first time, through the co-operation of the Registrar-General it
has been possible to obtain statistics of the findings of London residents examined during
the year at mass X-ray units throughout the country.
Because some X-ray units had not sent in their year's figures to the Registrar-General
for this report, the statistics tend to be slightly on the low side.
However, from figures available it is manifest that over a quarter of a million
Londoners of all ages submitted to examination at these units during 1955.
Among these, 1,391 cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis were discovered and
confirmed during subsequent observation and assessment. 27 cases of active lung
tuberculosis were discovered in children under 15 years of age, 11 of the cases being
in 13-year-old pupils referred after tuberculin testing.
Among adults examined there were 22,660 male metal workers among whom
99 cases (4.4 per thousand) of active disease were discovered. In 22,660 housewives
X-rayed by mass radiography units 144 (6.4 per thousand) were found to have active
tuberculosis. 16 active cases of lung disease were found among 6,100 school teachers
(2.6 per thousand) and 220 (3.9 per thousand) out of 56,940 clerks were similarly
affected. Among the 14,770 transport workers X-rayed, 120 active cases (8 per thousand)
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