[Report 1953] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard Borough.

  • Liskeard (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1953
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1953] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/24 (page 4)
    an excellent scr/ice for han(5J.ing cases of t\iberoulosis and their contacts and considerable assistance and advice has been given to the fainily doctor in this important matter, I believe that as a result of this, the family doctor has not hesitated to refer doubtful or chronic cases of chest ailments to the Chest Clinic and in that way some nevir causes of pulmonary tuberculosis have been discovered., Tihilst the inx-iedhate inpact of such discoveries tends to depress our hopes of elirndnating this ddsease, the long-term outlook is iiproved by the discovery and recognition of such cases. Our main hope of controlling and eliminating tuberculosis lies in the earl^r recognition and control of the affected individual and the caneful checking and surveillance of the close contacts at least. Ideally all knovm regular contacts of any new case of tuberculosis should be examined and checked in an endeavour to find a. possible source of infection and to discover any other individuals who had been infected, either by our newly discovered case of by the original infecting source, Unfonbuna.tely this procedure is so difficult to put into effect as to be almost irpossible, and at present our control and surveillance of contacts is confined to close family associates of the case, usually those living in the same house, ¥e do recognise, and this is especially true of tuber¬ culosis in young, and previously active adolescents and a.dults, that there may be a vd.de circle of contacts beyond the family v.hich is not checked or investigated. The main reason for not checking contacts in this v/ider circle is one of manpower, since to cariy it out thorou^ly and conscientiously would, require a large staff of health visitors, and Chest Clinics would necessanily be involved in attending to the large nuniber of contacts, An additional reason is the undesirability of disseminating widely the fact that any individual is suffering from tuberculosis. In the circumstances contact tracing is confined to the relatively restricted circle of relatives with whom the patient has been in close contact, and in v/hich the chances of discovering the source of infection, and/or secondary cases of the disease would seem to be greatest. Nevertheless this does allov/ some sources of infection anci/or secondary cases (themselves further potential sources of infection) to escape recognition and thereby to act as reservoirs, and diss¬ eminators of infection. For this reason we must accept the probability that ercid.ica.tion of tuberculosis 'vvill be a slow and sometimes a discouraging business. On the other hand, new methods of prevention and treatment of this disease, together with a more enlig^itened and. intelligent outlook on the i^art of the general public, will as time goes by exert an increasingly favourable influence on the situation. Whilst on the subject of specific preventive measures against tuberculosis I can reT^ort tv.ro encouraging developments. Early in 1954 all children in the school-leaving group i,e, all those who attain the age of I4 years d.uring 1954, vri.ll be examined by mass- radiograply, end if after this, and one further simple skin test, they are found suitable, they will be offered (subject to parental coneent) B,C,G, vaccination against tuberculosis. This group has been selected because it is felt that adolescents when they leave school and. coimiience woi’k ene exposed to a greater risk of tuberculous infection, vri.thout in nany cases the opportunity to develop the adults povrer of resistance to the disease. Vaccination vri-th B,C.G, enables them to safely and quickly acquire a reasonable degree of resistance to tuberculosis, and thereby reduce the tragic toll which this disease has always exa.cted amongst adolescents, and young adults. In considering B,C,G, vaccination we ou^t in fairness to tliis measure of prevention, try to understand the type of proteqtion it affords, and the limitations vdiich attach to it.