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43
The total number of cases of tuberculosis represents a rate
of 11.7 per thousand population, which is a slight increase over
the previous year. There were nineteen deaths from tuberculosis.
The mass radiography unit made its first visit to Orpington
between the 5th and the 11th December, 1951. There was
excellent response and, during the one week of their stay, one
thousand nine hundred and fifty-four people took advantage of
this service. The value of the service cannot be over estimated.
It is, in fact, a truly preventive service in that it brings to light
evidence of early tuberculosis and so allows treatment to be
commenced and every action taken before the disease takes a
crippling grip. I am sure that a wider use of mass x-ray would
assist the hospitals and prevent high cost of treatment which
arises once a person becomes badly affected. As a result of this
one week's operation, fourteen cases were discovered to be
significant new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. Statistically,
this would indicate that in the population of Orpington there are
as many as seven persons per thousand who are potential cases
of tuberculosis.
Paratyphoid.
It was during September that I reported to the Committee
on a small outbreak of paratyphoid which occurred in this part
of North West Kent. I am, therefore, extracting, from the
Chislehurst and Sidcup Annual Report what I have written.
" Two cases of paratyphoid ' B ' were notified, one on the
13th July, 1951, and the second on the 17th July, 1951—the date
of onset of symptoms in each case being respectively the 7th
and 12th July.
The delay in notifications was mainly due to the difficulty
of diagnosis and to the time taken for bacteriological and
seriological verification. It is this delay between onset of illness
and the confirmation of the diagnosis that makes any investigation
into the source of this disease so difficult. In cases of
paratyphoid infection, there is also to be considered the period
of incubation which, in some cases, may be as much as two
weeks. As a general rule, one can accept that paratyphoid ' B '
is a food infection and not a ' Case to case ' infection.
On investigation being made into these two cases, there
appeared to be no connection—the one at Sidcup had no relation
or contact with the case at St. Paul's Cray. It was only on the
occurrence in the same week of a case in the Orpington district
that a relationship was found between all three. All three