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in two cases amounting to statutory overcrowding, but during the year re-housing of the
families of these patients was effected through the Council's Housing Department. In
only one of the cases were any sanitary defects found in the house and that was in one of the
overcrowded homes which was affected with dampness. This family was one of the ones
to be rehoused.
There were multiple notifications in two homes, in each of these the new patient was the
third person to be affected with the disease.
All of these figures show some improvement on last year's findings. There are fewer
overcrowded homes, fewer affected by dampness or other sanitary defect and fewer multiple
notifications.
It is pleasing to be able to record that of the eight newly notified cases in 1953, found
to be living in overcrowded conditions, six were rehoused in 1954.
During the year the Tuberculosis Vaccines Clinical Trial in which Southall, with many
other areas, is co-operating with the Medical Research Council, was continued. The scheme
is designed to determine the value of tuberculosis vaccination when used on a large scale
in Britain, and it entails keeping in touch with over 50,000 young people from many areas
taking part. Twenty-three of these volunteers come from the Borough of Southall, and
during the year each was sent a postal form and received an invitation for X-ray. In addition
each was visited by a Health Visitor on the staff of the Area Medical Officer. As in previous
years, the co-operation between all those taking part in the trial has been very close, and it
has been found possible to keep in close touch with the very great majority of those concerned.
The scheme is a long-term one and it is hoped to continue the follow up for a
longer period.
Research into Incidence of New Tuberculosis in the Adolescent. A trial scheme for the
investigation of high incidence of tuberculosis among young adults, by means of an examination
of school leavers, and an annual review of those subsequently volunteering to enter the
scheme, was begun in October, 1952, by the staff of the Mass X-ray Unit. Part of the scheme
also consists in preliminary propaganda in the schools and the distribution of explanatory
letters to parents. Ten education areas in Middlesex were brought into this scheme,
including Southall. In 1953, 523 consented to take part in the scheme (258 boys and 265
girls), and in 1954, 585 (241 boys and 344 girls). This response is very good. The full
results of this scheme will not, of course, be available for a number of years as it is designed
to cover a 10-year age group, i.e. ages 15 to 24, and the incidence of tuberculosis morbidity
during the 10 years after leaving school, and the value of these results will depend, to a great
extent, on the continued co-operation of the individuals concerned in the survey.
Graph B is a pictorial representation of the statistics of tuberculosis in the Borough
from 1930 to 1954.
Cancer
It will be seen by the table of causes of death (page 39) that in 1954 115 cases (72 males
and 43 females) died from cancer. See Appendix, Table VI, for an analysis of cancer deaths
since 1930.
Below is set out in tabular form a classification of the cancer deaths according to the site
of the primary growth and in ages.