Evening star., 1947-05-03
Plans Outlined
For Here
OF CfIubeIcuIods
Success VIII Depend
On Civic Gro up llid
Dr. HiIIe Doe Soys

! IL
Health ofAciaIs yesterday outliuedl
some of the pians for Washine etonss |
ptopcsed ty-wide tslberculoGis sur-I
w.
surgeon general cf the United tatesl
Public Health Service, told the R1l6- q
He Health Committee Of the Beard
,of Trade the surveys Ssaccess d.
ipends on the help provided ~ the
District Medical Society civic or
ganizat ations, radio stations and
newspapers.
Warrington Ii different from
other places where the Public
Health Service has made tuher-
Iclllosis survey, he said, la that there
Is no rural population here. and
the purse strings are not held BY
the people Of the city but by Con-
g1ess.
In other cities there was no dffn-
Guilty ID. raising funds needed to l
carry on the work. but III fhe Dis
trict, although most sof the money
needed has been put up By the 4
Public Health Service and the
Washington Tuberculosis ,Associa-
ton, the Health Department. III
without funds to pay It's snali share
and must rely upon Congress or
private donations,
$s5,0oo Ii d. C. Share.
No detailed plans for the survey
In Washington have been made,
DR.. A. Barklie Coulter. director OF
the Bureau of tuberculosis OF the
Health Department, said, but It will
take about six months to complete,
and the District must raise $65, 600
to pay its share.
Fifteen years ago, he said, there
were 5000 known cases of tuber-
culosis in the District. Now that
has risen to Is, 900. with many more
unsuspected cases here. Tubercu-
losis Is q preventable disease, he
said, and the time element in dis
covering the disease is = big feature
in It's cure.
Health ofhcer George G. Ruhland
said the Health Department esti-
mated there were 1000 more tuber-
culosis cases here than the medical
profession had discovered.
DR.. Hilleboe, In outlining the plans
for the survey, said it was not
planned to examine children under
Is years old, instead block-to-
block survey viii be made of the
rest OF the population and every
one will be subjected to tubercu-
losis tests. After these tests are
made. any one suspected Of having
the disease will be turned over to-
clinics and the more serious cases
given hospital treatment.
Heart disease causes about Is per
cent OF ali deaths, DR.. Hilleboe said,
with cancer responsible for about
10 per cent and tuberculosis follow
ing with about per cent. He said
Negroes-about 20 per cent Of the
population here-produced about
Jwo-thirds of the deaths from tu-3
berculosis.
Feeds Upon Poverty,
:, Poverty and tuberculosis feed
upon each other, which ID why the
death rate from tuberculosis is
higher In cities" he said, Wash
ington has resources 10 cafry on the
work Of reducing tuberculosis. II
we tackle this job now we can pre-
vent q more expensive job in the
future"
DR.. Hilleboe said that close to 90
per cent OF the discovered cases OF
tuberculosis could be taken care Of
In clinics. He proposed to take q
sample tuberculosis test about q year
after the survey was completed to
see what progress had been made.
Edward K. Funkhouser, executive
secretary of the District Of Colum-
bia Tuberculosis Association, also
spoke Of the need for raising the
needed money for the survey. He
was member Of the committee
that, Investigated the need for q
survey here and was appointed
chairman Of a subcommittee which
will try to obtain the funds neces-
sary for the District to pay its
share.
F. H. Kenworthy, chairman Of the
Public Health Committee Of the
Board OF Trade, presided at, the
luncheon