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New Cases attending the Tuberculosis Dispensaries for the first time
during 1951.

Number of patients admitted to Sanatoria during the year: 57
These figures relate to patients resident in Beckenham Borough only.
Dr. Madigan has sent me this report on the work of the Chest
Clinics:—
"The general trend of the incidence of tuberculosis appears to be
falling. Comparison between the years 1950 and 1951 illustrates this ;
it shows too that 57 patients were admitted to Institution in 1951 as
opposed to 61 in 1950.
Chemotherapy must be awarded a lot of credit in reducing the
incidence of tuberculosis, especially since the introduction of streptomycin.
This is self-evident when it is known that suitable sputum
positive cases are relatively rapidly converted to negative following
adequate chemotherapeutic treatment. Even in the more resistant cases
the number of organisms in the sputum is considerably reduced.
Social conditions do not seem to have improved, especially in the
matter of housing which is a national problem of great magnitude.
Admission to Institution is perhaps much easier than heretofore,
but there is still great difficulty in getting early admission for major
surgery.
As regards preventive measures: B.C.G. vaccination has been
organised for this area. All negative Mantoux contact children are
invited to take advantage of it, and six weeks segregation from open cases
is observed.
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