Abstract
IN a recent article (Bol. Of. San. Panamer., 22, 318; 1943), Drs. A. R. Ginés, A. Alvarez and M. Mercado state that in June 1941 the control of tuberculosis in Asunción was started under the direction of Dr. Angel R. Ginés, and 40,000 persons were examined in the course of a year. In November 1941, the Ministry of Health amended a decrce of 1938 making compulsory the X-ray examination of all public officers, public and private employees, teachers, students, labourers, etc. The examination consisted of a tuberculin test, pulmonary röntgenograms or sometimes merely fluoroscopy and a rapid examination of the skin and mucous membranes. The Tuberculosis Dispensary at Asuneión, which was founded in 1922, during the first ten years of its existence could treat only general advanced tuberculosis owing to the lack of modern means of diagnosis; but in 1932 a chair of tuberculosis was created and the campaign against tuberculosis now includes a röntgenological and tuberculin survey and a morbidity and mortality survey in the urban areas of the Republic, diagnosis of the disease by modern methods, effective isolation or quarantine of contagious cases, creation of schools for the tuberculous or pre-tuberculous, vaccination of the newborn with B.C.G., economic and social improvements, creation of an Institute of Social Security, intensive educational propaganda, and eradication of tuberculous animals. The tuberculosis death-rate is calculated to be 199·9 per 100,000, and its relation to general mortality is 15·50 per cent. Tuberculosis with other diseases of the lungs caused a third of the deaths in 1941. Relation to the standard of living is supported by the following death-rates merchants 3 per cent, intellectuals 6 per cent, seamstresses, domestic helpers and other employees 10–11 per cent, farmers 22 per cent and labourers 29 per cent. The highest death-rates were noted in the 1–5 year old group and in the 20–40 group.
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Tuberculosis in Paraguay. Nature 153, 248–249 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153248d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153248d0