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TUBERCULOSIS
Chest Clinics
There are two chest clinics serving the Borough. Both are based
at Cumberland Hospital, Mitcham. At these clinics the Tuberculosis
Health Visitors assist the Chest Physicians, and help and advise the
patients. They do Mantoux tests and follow-up contacts and patients
who fail to attend. At the end of the year the case load of Tuberculosis
Health Visitors was as follows: —
Cases of tuberculosis 473
Other chest cases (lung cancer, bronchitis,
bronchiectasis, etc.) 751

Domiciliary Visiting
Home visiting continues to be an important part of the work of
Tuberculosis Health Visitors. The number of tuberculosis households
visited during the year was 303.
Details of domiciliary visiting by Health Visitors are given
below:—
Visits in connection with old cases 633
Visits in connection with new cases 25
Visits in connection with contacts 49
Total 707
B.C.G. Vaccination
During the year B.C.G. inoculation of school children in the
thirteen-year-old age group was carried out:—
Number of children skin tested 262
Number found negative 238
Number vaccinated with B.C.G. 222
The numbers are considerably lower than last year, due to the
fact that rubella vaccination of girls and various immunisation procedures
given prior to pupils proceeding on school cruises, made it
impossible to carry out the usual autumn programme of B.C.G.
vaccination of 13-year-old children in the schools. This will be reflected
in the figures for the year 1971 when two age groups will be
dealt with.
No children with positive skin tests were known to be contacts of
notified cases of tuberculosis.
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