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Our only full-time dentist resigned in the autumn and
although with the help of part-time dentists we were able to
operate at least one dental clinic it was quite impossible to
maintain a satisfactory service for school children. It is
several years now since some schools had a routine dental
inspection.
The Dental Laboratory continues to construct dentures
and appliances not only for Barking but for many dental
centres elsewhere in the County.
VACCINATION AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS
This service, called B.C.G. vaccination, was introduced
to Barking during the Autumn of 1954 and has operated since
that time. It was restricted to school children aged between
13 and 14 years but has recently been extended to include
students attending technical colleges or other establishments
of further education. As vaccination is indicated only in
persons who have never been infected with tuberculosis a
pre-vaccination tuberculin sensitivity test is necessary to
detect previously infected persons. We decided from the
beginning of the scheme to carry out two such tests simultaneously,
namely the Mantoux test which consists of the
intradermal injection of 0.1 ml. (10 TU) of a solution of
P.P.D. supplied by the Ministry of Health, and a test first
described by Heaf in 1951 and known as the Heaf multiple
puncture test.
Doctors Martin and Seligmann who carried oui the bulk
of this tuberculin testing and result reading, both attended
a course of instruction in the necessary techniques prior to
the commencement of the scheme. The results we obtained
on over 3,000 school children are compared below:-
Number
Year Tested
1954 214
1955 675
1956 751
1957 863
1956 723
Page 24
Total No.
of Reactors
23
96
97
71
75
Heaf Test
Positive
Results
23
96
93
70
75
Mantoux Test
positi"'
Results
22
86
97
71
73