The New Born.
167. Vaccination of the new born in hospitals and the larger maternity centres was carried out throughout the year, but the numbers dealt with in this way constituted a small proportion of total births in the Colony. In fact, during the year the number of new born dealt with in these institutions was merely 4,883 out of a total of 75,544 births throughout the Colony. As has been stated earlier the majority of births occur under the supervision of midwives either in private maternity homes or in the patient's home and the administrative problems of providing B.C.G. vaccination to this age group still remains unsolved. It is not considered desirable that the midwives should carry out intradermal vaccination and it would, in any case, be an immense task not only to train midwives to do so but to ensure that the technique was carried out adequately and with fresh vaccine. Thus investigations were carried out of alternative methods of vaccination, for example, by multi-puncture, in an endeavour to develop a satisfactory yet simple technique which could easily be adopted by the midwives. Various methods were tested but by all of them a high conversion rate was associated with a high complication rate in the form of regional adenitis. This work suggests that in the new born efficient vaccination is frequently associated with adenitis and that this should be regarded as part of the "primary complex" and not unnecessarily as a true complication. A proportion of these cases do form caseous axillary abscesses but it was found that these could be quickly controlled by the timely ase of isonicotinic acid hydrazide.
168. The sum total of all R.C.G. vaccinations carried out during the year is summarized below, the figures for the previous year being shown for comparison.
X-ray Surveys.
169. Surveys by mass miniature radiography are carried out to the limit of available facilities. All Government em- ployees are annually surveyed and free surveys are carried out of the employees of private firms and institutions which are prepared to guarantee that any of their staff found to be sufer- ing from the infection will be granted reasonable leave on pay to enable treatment to be carried out. In addition all prisonera admitted to the Colony's main prison at Stanley are radio- graphically examined.
170. The annual survey of Government employees was commenced in 1948 but was not fully carried out until 1949. Since the initiation of these surveys there has been a steady fall in the number of active cases of tuberculosis found each year and a substantial increase in the percentage of early minimal cases among those brought to light. This has been reflected in the stendy fall in the number of persons it has been found necessary to invalid from the Government service on account of tuberculosis.
171. During the year 24,915 Government employees were examined radiographically and the percentage found with active tuberculosis was 0.722%. The corresponding figures for the previous year were 19,611 and 0.984%. Below is set forth an analysis showing percentages of cases of tuberculosis found in major Government Departments (employing 500 or Flore persons) during the past. three years.
Storer
1958/63
Department
1949/50 1061/58
2.38
1.36
1.09
Public Works
2.2
1.BA
General Post Office
1.74
1.11
1.00
Medical
14
0.9
0.78
Urban Services
10.9
0.78
11.56
Period Sturting Covered
test
Completed test. Podlivo. Negulive
rizaled
Percent-
vaccinated.
Newborns Total 'voccioated vaccinated
Railway
0.7
1.33
0.89
Police
0.66
0.56
0.52
Education
0.12
1.32
0.36
April to
Eve 1953) 206,029
Joo. Lo
Dm. 1953 02.510
138,490 38,238 39,173
50,193 27,229 | 27,084 |
21.6 3,128
74.9 4,803
43,293
* Agriculture, Fisheries &
Forestry
2.003
0.63
- Marine
0.90
0.92
31,907
Net Included in 1949769 ftruere.
47
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