London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Harrow 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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3. B.C.G. Inoculation. Another contribution made bv the
School Health Staff is by B.C.G. inoculation. The groups selected for
treatment are children of thirteen years of age. This entails a separate
examination as this is not an age group at which a routine medical
examination is carried out. As those who have already been exposed to
infection do not need the injection, the procedure is first to carry out a
tuberculin test. Those who react negatively are given an injection. Those
reacting positively are referred to the chest clinic for examination. It has
proved possible to carry out these tests on the relevant children at all
schools in the course of the year, the pupils at the Secondary Modern
schools being dealt with in the Spring term, those at the Grammar schools
in the Summer term and those at the Independent schools in the Autumn
term.
The following is a summary of the work carried out in 1960
| Type of School | No. of Pupils Eligible | No. of Acceptances | Negative Reactors | Positive Reactors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary Modern | 1.900 | 1,285 | 1,035 | 153 |
| Secondary Grammar | 851 | 630 | 499 | 94 |
| Independent | 673 | 525 | 439 | 69 |
| Special | 10 | 4 | 3 | — |
| Total .. | 3,434 | 2,444 | 1.976 | 316 |
| (3,749) | (2,629) | (2,162) | (244) |
Of the negative reactors, 1,960 were given B.C.G.
For comparison the corresponding figures for 1959 are shown in
brackets. The acceptance rate for 1960 was seventy-one per cent.
The arrangements for routine inoculation by B.C.G. in this country
were started by offering facilities to children of thirteen years of age. This
age was chosen with a view to children having the maximum protection
a few years later when they would become more especially at risk, both
because at their place of employment they might be more exposed to
infection and because perhaps at those ages their resistance might be
lower. The later results of the investigation conducted by the Medical
Research Council into the efficiacy of B.C.G. as a preventive agent
showed that the immunity afforded by the inoculation lasted for quite a
number of years. It would then be possible to lower the age at which
inoculation was carried out while still affording protection at the ages it
was felt particulary desirable. The advantage of carrying out the practice
at the lower age would be that of saving from infection those who otherwise
would have succumbed when ten, eleven or twelve years old. With
this in mind, the Ministry early in 1961 authorised arrangements on
these lines being made.
Fourteen persons between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four were
notified during the year as suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis which
they had presumably contracted while living in this district and one