View report page

6
cases were not severe and made a complete recovery but the other two
cases were of greater severity and required prolonged treatment in
hospital.
Three of the notified cases occurred in January, and the other
three during the summer and autumn months.
None of the notified cases had been vaccinated against Poliomyelitis.
Tuberculosis
The number of new cases of Pulmonary Tuberculosis continues
to fall; there were 18 notified during the year as compared with 23
cases in the previous year. The number of new cases of Non-Pulmonary
Tuberculosis was the same as in 1955 — viz. 3 cases.
Death Rate
There were 4 deaths from Pulmonary Tuberculosis during 1956.
Six persons who had been notified as suffering from Pulmonary Tuberculosis
died during the year—of these 4 died from that cause and
the remaining two were due to other causes.
Mass Radiography Unit
Arrangements were made for the Mass Radiography Unit of the
South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board to visit the
Borough from 3rd to 20th April to afford facilities for X-ray of the
chest for anyone wishing to attend. Besides sessions for the general
public, special sessions were held for the staffs of business houses and
large firms.
The unit was based in the Public Health Department, and the
visit was widely publicised. The numbers attending were not so good
as on the previous visit. It seems that too few people realize that an
annual chest X-ray is a most important check up on health.
I give below a brief summary of the findings of the survey:—
Male Female Total
Total number X-rayed 1356 1389 2745
Pulmonary Tuberculosis Active — 3 3
Pulmonary Tuberculosis Inactive 62 67 129
Non-Tuberculosis abnormalities 50 20 70
Maternal Mortality
There were no maternal deaths recorded during the year.
Infant Mortality Rate
The number of deaths of infants under one year was the same
as last year — viz. 5 deaths.
The infant mortality rate for this area is 10.5 per 1,000 live
births.