[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard R.D.C.

  • Liskeard (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    has been given to the possible role of atmospheric pollution in the causation of these cancers. If one thinks of the ever increasing amount of exhaust fumes from petrol and diesel engines which foul the air in towns and cities, one cannot help but be suspicious that prolonged and continued exposure to such contaminants of the air we breathe may damage the human respiratory mechanism. Indeed, many observers believe that the cause lies not so much in one agent as in a combination of harmful agents derived from heavy con¬ sumption of tobacco in cigarettes, and the gross pollution of air by internal combustion engines, industrial processes and domestic chimneys. Finally, it is worth remembering that whereas we may not be able to deal easily or quickly with air pollution, the decision about heavy cigarette smoking is one which every individual can take for himself or herself, and adolescents and young adults should at least be warned and encouraged to take careful thought before they become addicted to this expensive and possible lethal habit. It is pleasant to be able to report an improvement in the incidence of new tuberculosis cases during 1955. The total number of such new cases notified was 33 of which 28 were respiratory and 5 were non-respiratory infections. This is the lowest total of new notifications so far recorded, and is a reduction of 6 on the total for 1954. It is too early yet to form any reliable views on the reduction in the incidence of this disease which has occurred in the past two years in this Area. If we had undertaken some specific or spectacular counter-measures we might expect the good results already evident to continue, but I do not know of any such measures, and am therefore inclined to ascribe the good results achieved to factors and influences unknown to us and outside our control. For this reason it is possible that the improvement of the past two years may not be maintained. It is also likely that as the incidence of the disease is reduced the rate of reduction will slow down as the more resistant hard core of the problem is approached. It is of course possible and indeed probable, that some of the improvement is due to the pains taking and unremitting work of the Chest Physician, Dr. J. C. Mellor, and the Tuberculosis Health Ahsitor, Miss S. L. Luxton, who collaborate closely with the General Practitioners and the Health Area Office in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, and the examination and surveillance of close contacts. The fact that the admission of cases to Chest Hospitals can now be secured without delay must also help considerably in curtailing the spread of infection and hastening the patients eventual recovery. Some time prior to writing this the Medical Research Council published their con¬ clusions on the efficacy of B.C.G. vaccination of adolescent children of school¬ leaving age. From this it appears that a substantial degree of protection against tuberculosis follows B.C.G. vaccination of those children who would otherwise have been at risk of contracting the disease. It is also well to recall that the protection given is intended to deal with reasonable risks only, and does not give unlimited licence to take stupid and unreasonable risks. The scheme for offering B.C.G. vaccination to children of school-leaving age in this Health Area commenced in 1954, and up to the present some 1,200 children have been protected in this way. The incidence of general infectious disease was almost the same as in the previous year. Although the total number of cases notified fell very slightly from 706 in 1954 to 703 in 1955, the rate per 1,000 of population showed a very slight rise from 13.58 to 13.62 per 1,000. The most prevalent notifiable disease was measles of which there were 428 cases. Notifications of pneumonia showed a fairly sharp rise from 56 cases in 1954 to 97 cases in 1955. C-f the more serious infectious diseases there were seven cases of paralytic polio¬ myelitis, the largest number since 1950 when 10 cases occurred. With one exception, all were mild attacks, and none had a fatal outcome. One case in an adult woman was of moderate severity, with paralysis of upper and lower limbs. The number of cases of food poisoning notified—8 in all—was small, but unfortunately one infection by the most common food poisoning