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Management of Tuberculosis
For diagnostic purposes, Southall patients are mostly referred either by general
practitioners or from hospital doctors to the Uxbridge Chest Clinic, and if tuberculosis is
found, treatment and following-up is instituted from that Clinic. The Tuberculosis Visitor
calls at the home of a patient and submits a copy of her report to the Public Health Department.
Contacts are seen by the Visitor and they have suitable tests, either tuberculin tests or
X-rays, or both, at the Chest Clinic. If sanitary defects or overcrowding are reported further
visiting is carried out from the Public Health Department.
At St. Bernard's Hospital, cases of tuberculosis are isolated in Adelaide Ward, which
has 24 male and 24 female beds. One of the doctors from Uxbridge Chest Clinic continues
to carry out tuberculin testing and B.C.G. vaccination of members of the nursing staff of the
hospital. All new members of the staff at this Hospital have routine X-ray examination before
commencement of duty.
B.C.G. Vaccination
B.C.G. vaccination is offered to contacts of cases of tuberculosis, to medical and nursing
staffs of tuberculosis wards, and since 1957, as a result of the findings of the Medical
Research Council in their Tuberculosis Vaccines Clinical Trial, to children aged 13 and over
in Southall schools. Testing with tuberculin is carried out beforehand. The tuberculin test, if
positive, shows that infection has occurred at some time during life, and further investigation
is undertaken to verify whether this is active, chronic or healed infection, as these all give
the same result to the test. When the tuberculin test is negative and in the absence of disease,
B.C.G. inoculations are carried out in order to render the individuals tuberculin positive
and. therefore, to have immunitv to infection bv the tuberculous bacillus.
*Indians and Pakistanis
†West Indians
‡Chinese
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