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Deaths.
72 persons (47 male and 25 female) died from pulmonary tuber
culosis during the year, and 14 (9 male and 5 female) from non
pulmonary tuberculosis. The death rates per million populatior
was therefore 448 from the pulmonary disease, compared with a
figure of 605 for England and Wales for the year 1935, the comparable
local figures for non-pulmonary tuberculosis being 71 and
the corresponding national figure 113.
Tubercular disease resulted in 86 deaths, accounting for 6.8
per cent. of the total deaths in the district, the corresponding figure
for England and Wales being 9.
21 deaths, or 24 per cent. of those who died from tuberculosis,
occurred amongst patients who had not been notified in this district
as suffering from tuberculosis. Of these 7 died in institutions outside
the district, a number of these being only temporary residents
here. Notification is, however, expected from institutions specifically
for the treatment of the tuberculous, three of these unnotified
patients dying in such hospitals. With regard to four patients the
diagnosis of tuberculosis was not made until after the result of postmortem
examination, two of these suffering from pulmonary and
two from non-pulmonary disease. In the other cases where there
was failure to notify that the patient was suffering from tuberculosis,
the reasons given were: deliberate abstention from notification so
as to keep the knowledge from the patient that he was suffering
from tuberculosis; one patient died at a mental hospital, not
having lived in this district for many years; one patient died after
a very short illness from meningitis; in one case a doctor was
summoned only just prior to the fatal issue; in two cases medical
practices had only recently changed hands; while two patients
transferred here suffering from the disease and were, in error, not
notified. One patient died from uraemia, tuberculosis appearing
on the certificate as an infected kidney had been removed 20 years
previously. In only one instance of local failure to notify was no
reason advanced.
Of the 58 notified cases of pulmonary tuberculosis who died, 18
succumbed within one year of notification, 7 of these being within
one month and 12 within 6 months. 13 died in the second year