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41
Medical Treatment.
During recent years the treatment of tuberculosis by means of
new drugs has given cause for encouragement, but medical treatment
is very far from being a certain cure, and for those who do not
respond to treatment by drugs the alternative surgical treatment
has become increasingly severe.
Prevention and Control.
Tuberculosis is essentially an infectious disease and, as in the
case of other infectious diseases caused by bacilli, the only hope of
eradicating it is by prevention—that is, by detecting the disease
at the earliest possible moment, by isolating as far as possible
those who are infectious, and by building up the resistance of those
exposed or susceptible to infection.
ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.
I had hoped to be able to describe the path of a typical patient
as he proceeds from one responsible official body to another in his
search for restoration to health and fitness to resume work ; but so
closely is that path beset by a variety of independently constituted
and staffed public bodies that I find it easier to submit in tabular
form a list of the authorities, local committees and officers responsible
for the various services undertaken on behalf of those afflicted
by tuberculosis. This list is submitted in the form of an Appendix
on page 49.
Not only is there diversity of responsibility between differently
constituted public bodies, but there is diversity -between different
committees of the same authority. For example, the fitness for
habitation of the patient's home and environment is the responsibility
of one Committee (Public Health), and the re-housing of the patient
and his family is the responsibility of another Committee (Housing).
TUBERCULOSIS IN LEYTON—1928 to 1953.
Incidence and Mortality.
Hereunder is submitted a statistical summary showing, in
respect of each year since 1928—a period of 26 years—the annual
number of Leyton residents notified to be suffering from tuberculosis,
and the number who died from the disease. The information
is submitted also in the form of a graph.