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Report of Tuberculosis Officer—continued.
by their own doctor, and in the case of school children, a large
number of contacts who are not brought to the Dispensary are
examined by the school doctor to whom information is sent of the
occurrence of a case of tuberculosis in the family. 147 cards of
school contacts were sent to the Medical Officer during the year.
Of these, 96 had not been examined at the Dispensary. These
children are examined at school and the contacts of a case with
tubercle germs in the sputum are seen frequently.
Many adult contacts frankly refuse to be examined, saying
they will come if they feel anything wrong.
It will be observed that only three of the contacts examined
during the year were found to be tuberculous, but several child
contacts who were found to be in poor health though showing
no definite signs of tuberculosis were referred for a period of
convalescent treatment, through the Invalid Children's Aid
Association, or the Guardians, and thus assisted in the best
way to fight any infection they might have acquired.
Some contacts showing no signs of tuberculosis will probably
in subsequent years develop definite disease, but the prolonged
supervision of contacts for an indefinite number of years is
difficult. The number would soon become too large for any
adequate supervision, also families resent visits and enquiries
being kept up, particularly when the original case has got quite
well, or died, or removed.
It is, morever, doubtful, that people who are unwilling to
attend in the first instance would be more likely to attend subsequently,
merely on the Visitor's recommendation that they should
do so if out of sorts.
In this connection an inquiry was made at the end of the
year into the notifications of tuberculosis occurring amongst the
contacts of cases notified in 1924, who had been seen at the
Dispensary, and in whom the diagnosis was beyond doubt, tubercle
bacilli having been present in the sputum. Of 236 notifications of