[Report 1943] / Medical Officer of Health, Darlington County Borough.
- Darlington (England). County Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1943
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1943] / Medical Officer of Health, Darlington County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
15/22 page 15
![VENEREAL DISEASE. Under Treatment. There were under treatment this year 326 new cases as compared with 315 last year. Of the 326 cases, 206 were found to l)e non-venereal; the corresponding figure for 1942 was 165. There were thus 120 new cases of venereal disease during 1943 and of these 38 were found to be suffering from Syphilis and 82 from Gonorrhoea. Syphilis cases show a marked decrease from the previous year when the number of new cases was 81. The figure for Gonorrhoea shows little change, there being 69 cases last year. There were no cases of soft Chancre. Cases of congenital Syphilis attending the clinic for the first time numbered only 4, whereas 13 were reported in 1942. The very considerable increase in non-venereal cases would appear to suggest that the propaganda campaign to combat the venereal diseases is bearing fruit, there being more suspected cases attending the clinic than was formerly the case. ]Many also come wishing to be reassured of no real justification for any anxiety ; and in the majority of such cases the propaganda campaign has been responsible for this. The campaign will therefore not be in vain if it serves the purpose—as seems to be the case— of breaking down the barriers of mock modesty which have unfortunately hitherto existed in relation to the venereal diseases, and make people less hesitant to seek advice. People nowadays appear to be less reluctant to discuss such matters than formerly, which is as it should be. No doubt in the future such things will be spoken of still more freely. Cases Transferred from Other Areas. These numbered only 23, a decrease of 42 from last year. This was entirely due to service patients ceasing to be treated at civilian clinics, as shown by the number of transfers of civilian patients which were 18 this year and 16 last year and 18 in 1941. Discharged Cured. There were 18 such cases of Syphilis in 1943 and 14 in 1942. For Gonorrheea the corresponding figures for the two 3’‘cars were respectively 60 and 42. The increased number of Gonorrhoea cases discharged cured is in conformity with the increased number of new cases of Gonorrhoea treated during the year. Ceased Attendance before completing Treatment. This year there were 63 cases and last year 80. In 1943, 10 of these were service patients and in 1942, 23. This makes the civilian defaulters rate slightly less this year than last year. Cases Transferred to other Areas. Here again the difference in the figures for this year and last year—being respectively 33 and 47—was due to service patients ceasing to be treated at civilian clinics ; there being only 8 service patients transferred this year, whereas last year’s figure was 28.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29149241_0015.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
