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The cases certified were most numerous in proportion to the population in
Whitmore Ward, where they amounted to 6.7 per 1,000 for tuberculosis of the
lungs, and 2.0 for other forms of tuberculosis. They were least numerous in
Church Ward, where the cases of tuberculosis of the lungs were 3.3 and of
other forms of tuberculosis 0.8 per 1,000 inhabitants.
In all cases of tuberculosis steps are now taken with the object of securing
proper treatment for the patients certified, for preventing the spread of infection,
and for the removal of insanitary conditions prejudicial to the patients. A large
proportion of the work already falls upon the Tuberculosis Dispensary and its
officers; there remains, however, a considerable amount which has to be dealt
with by the officers of the Health Department in connection with cases not
attending the Dispensary. It is hoped that in course of time these cases will be
reduced to a minimum. The sanitary work arising in connection with the
dwellings occupied by the patients is and will remain strictly a matter for the
officers of the Health Department.
During the year inquiries were made by the Sanitary officers respecting some
311 of the cases of consumption certified; in 182 the patients were males and
129 they were females. The cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis visited
numbered 78 of which 44 were in males and 34 females. Of the foregoing
29 were school children, 12 boys and 17 girls, and 15 of them, 5 boys and
10 girls, were cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. In the inspection of the dwellings
of tuberculous patients, attention is especially directed to the amount of cubic
space available for sleeping, the means provided for securing efficient ventilation,
the amount of light, the presence of dampness, and cleanliness. As the results
of the inspections during the year, in cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, in 150
the dwellings were satisfactory or fairly so and in 161 they were unsatisfactory;
in the cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis, 30 were satisfactory or in fair
condition, and 48 were unsatisfactory. In 101 of the cases of pulmonary
tuberculosis family histories of the disease were more or less clear, and in
94 there was evidence of infection from previous cases, mostly in the
patients' families. In the non-pulmonary tuberculosis cases there were family
histories in 25, and evidence of infection in 17 instances.
Disinfection was carried out by the Sanitary Authority in connection with
164 rooms at 144 premises, and the usual steps were taken as regards textile articles
exposed to infection therein, some 3,131 articles including 134 beds. 179 mattresses,
294 pillows and 119 bolsters being disinfected.
According to the reports received from the Insurance Committee for the County
of London, some 81 insured persons, 68 males and 13 females, who were inmates
of sanatoria or hospitals, were discharged therefrom during the year. The periods
spent by the patients at the institutions to which they had been sent varied from
a few days to seven months, the usual length of time being from two to three