[Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard Borough.

  • Liskeard (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/20 (page 2)
    In recent years the increased number of deaths due to cancer of the lung and bronchus has provoked much discussion of, and speculation upon possible causes of the increased incidence of these cancers. In particular much attention has been given to the possible role of tobacco in causing or being associated with these cancers, but no really indisputable or finally convincing evidence incriminating tobacco has been produced so far* Never¬ theless, the indirect evidence, largely statistical in nature, and increasing in volume as years go by throws grave suspicion on tobacco, especially if taken in the form of cigarettes in moderate or heavy quantity over a protracted period. It will probably be many years before sufficient evidence can be accumulated to fix the cause or causes of these cancers, but in view of their increasing toll of life it is hoped that before long some means of reducing, if not preventing their incidence will be found. I thought you would be interested in having figures showing the effect of this form of cancer in South East Cornwall, and for that reason I have gone through the records of deaths from this disease over the five year* period 1950-54* The results of my investigations appear in the form of two additional appendices to this Report, The first shows deaths in actual numbers and sexes in the six County Districts, and in the whole Health Area, Prom this it appears that deaths from this cause have been more numerous in 1953 and 1954than in tho previous three years. Except for the year 1950 the preponderance of male over female deaths, almost 3 to 1 , was less than the ratio of 5 to 6 male to 1 female death which obtains in the Country as a whole. The second appendix shows comparative death rates per 1000 of the population in this Health Area, Cornwall County, and England and Wales, Prom this it would appear that although the death rate has been increasing in all three cases, the relative number of deaths from cancer of the lung, and bronchus is less in this part of Cornwall, and in Cornwall County than in England and Wales generally. In my Annual Report last year I expressed some concern about the relatively high incidence of new cases of tuberculosis in this Area. I am glad to be able to tell you of a considerable an 4he position during 1954, when the total number ofnew cases/fell to39, a reduction of 24 on the figure for 1953. As far as individual districts were concerned, St. Germans Rural District, and Saltash Borough showed marked reductions, Torppint Urban District had a moderate reduction, and Looe Urban District a small reduction. In Liskeard Rural District and Liskeard Borough there was a moderate increase ib the incidence of the disease, the number of deaths from tuberculosis - 4 in all - is the lowest &ofar recorded in this Area, and represents a striking improvement on the average of 18 to 20 deaths from tuberculosis which occured as recently as five years ago. My views on the possibility of the early eradication of tuberculosis remain substan¬ tially as stated in my last Annual Report, and I cannot yet share the views of those who believe that tuberculosis will very scon become as rare, and unusual as diptheria now is. Much as we all welcome the reduction in the number of deaths from tuberculosis, I feel that this fact is sometimes over¬ publicised in an endeavour to show that the tuberculosis situation is improving generally. Laudable as our success in checking tuberculosis mortality may be, the real victory will not be won until wholesale eradication of the disease removes the possibility of infection. As a step towards controlling and preventing tuberculosis, the scheme for the B.C.G. vaccination against tuberculosis of children in the schools leaving age group i.e. those attaining the age of 14 years during 1954, got under way during the early summer. Of 507 school leavers eligible for vaccination some 395 received B.C.G. vaccine, and have thereby been stimulated to produce some resistance to the disease. The percentage of parents who refused to have their children vaccinated was 3% - a commendably low figure, whilst absentees did not exceed 6%. We were interested to find a low percentage - 13% of positive reactors to the pre-vaccination Mantoux test. This latter finding suggests that school children in Cornwall are not exposed to a great deal of human or animal tuberculosis infection. It also suggests that if these negative reactor children - about 80j£ of the school leaving population - who are devoid of any natural resistance to tuberculosis, had gone unprotected by vaccination into crowded city or urban communities where the level of tuberculosis infection is usually higher, they might well have fallen victim to the disease. The relatively low degree of natural immunity disclosed by the scheme underlines the importance of present efforts to stimulate to production in these children of some artificial immunity or resistance to the disease through B.C.G. vaccination.