T. B. Warning

Some people have the impression that tuberculosis is no longer a public health menace. But last week, as the National Tuberculosis Association opened its early diagnosis campaign urging U. S. citizens to have chest X-rays, ominous warnings were issued by several experts. They reminded the public that t.b., although it has been pushed back from first to eighth place among U.S. killers, still kills more people between 18 and 40 than any other disease.

Civilians. In 1940, 61,000 people in the U.S. died of t.b. Exactly how many U.S. citizens are tuberculous, no one knows. Conservative guess: 750,000. Dr. Lewis Israel Miller, medical chairman of the large Jewish Consumptive Relief Society in Denver, predicted last week that the rate may go up. Reasons: 1) the U.S. suffered a widespread influenza epidemic this winter, and flu may pave the way for t.b.; 2) some members of the younger generation have not been exposed to t.b., have consequently not developed immunity.

Soldiers. In 1917, the Army rarely used chest X-rays in examining recruits. This mistake cost taxpayers one billion dollars for the care of tuberculous veterans. But the Army is slow to learn. Said Surgeon General Thomas Parran last week: "Only in a few fortunate localities, typically the large cities, are X-rays to detect tuberculosis included in the examination."

Regular X-ray plates are the best way of detecting t.b. But the Army is not even using the new paper film X-rays, which, although not so accurate, cost half as much. These films are used all over the country to examine large crowds of people in a short time.

By hit-or-miss methods, Army doctors have found that one out of every 100 draftees has t.b. Officials admit that "some" cases were caught long after soldiers began training, and then only because the disease was well advanced.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.