§ Sir E. Graham-Littleasked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the rise in the incidence of tuberculosis, especially in children under five years of age and in view of the present impracticability of wider use of radiography in detecting tuberculosis, he will impress upon medical officers under his jurisdiction, the diagnostic value, especially in the case of infants and young children, of properly-performed tuberculin tests?
§ Mr. E. BrownThe report of the Committee of the Medical Research Council on Tuberculosis in War-Time, published last week, stresses the importance of the1504W routine use, in all tuberculosis dispensaries, of the tuberculin test in children particularly. The report is being brought to the notice of all Medical Officers of Health of tuberculosis authorities.
§ Sir E. Graham-Littleasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a recent investigation of the incidence of tubercle reveals that this is four times as great in women under 20 years of age as in men and that the figures for both sexes show a continuous rise; and whether he has now received the report promised from the Medical Research Council regarding the probable causes of the increased incidence in young women?
§ Mr. BrownThe investigation to which I think my hon. Friend refers was of a special and limited character and does not necessarily afford a basis for generalisation. The report of the committee of the Medical Research Council, which has now been published, deals at length with the incidence of tuberculosis and its war-time increase; and I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement which I made in the House last week.