DIRT AND DISEASE.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 50, 29 February 1888, Page 8

DIRT AND DISEASE.

THE TYPHOID OUTBREAK IN

AUCKLAND.

SOME STARTLING FACTS

Despite the failure of the city authorities through their officers to trace the present epidemic of typhoid and scarlet fevers to bad drains and dirty back yards, no reasonable person can doubt that the cause of the disease is due to the unsatisfactory sanitary arrangements of several parts of the city. Because Mr Goldie and his sharp-nosed assistant are unable to find by sense of smell or by sight the fever bed, common sense tells one that where large populous areas exist without any systematic drainage, worthy the name, there must of necessity be deflective sanitation. The tilth of a thousand households is nob to be exorcised by word of mouth, and ivhere fever exists in the majority of instances bad drainage is invariably the cause. At considerable personal trouble we have obtained and compiled a list of infectious diseases reported to the city Sanitary Inspector during the month of February. It is as follows :— Ponsonby Ward.—Pompallier Terrace, three cases typhoid fever ; Wallace-street, five cases typhoid ; Russell-street, two cases scarlet!' ever; Jervois Road, four cases typhoid fever; Ryle-street, three cases typhoid ; Jphn-street, .one case typhoid ; Emmetstreet, one case typhoid; Clarence-street, two cases typhoid ; George-street, one case typhoid ; Prospect-street, one case typhoid ; Curran-street, one case typhoid; Richmond Road, one case typhoid. Total, 25 cases. Karangahape Ward.—Randolph-street, two cases scarlet ; York-street, two cases scarlet; Karangahape Road, one case scarlet; Symond-street, one case of typhoid. Total, six cases. South Ward. —Lower Hepburn-street, one case typhoid; Grey-street, two cases typhoid; Collingwood-street, one case typhoid ; Hepburn-street, one case scarlet; Nelson-street, one case typhoid; Prattetreet, two' cases typhoid: total, eight cases. , _ . Grafton. — Grafton Road, one case typhoid; Oarleton. Gore Road, one case diphtheria. Total, two cases. North Ward. —Victoria-street, one case typhoid; Albert-street, one case scarlet. Total, 2 cases. East Ward. —Symonds-street, one case typhoid. Total cases reported in the city, 44. From this table we find that of the total number of cases reported more than one half came from Ponsonby Ward and thirtynine cases come from Ponsonby South Ward and Karangahape Ward, which are notoriously the worst-drained wardsof the city This means that the disease is confined to the half of the cifcy where bad sanitary conditions prevail, the well drained wards-North, East and Graftonhavincr only five cases amongst them. Another point worthy of notice m connection with the figures we publish is that the disease is confined almost entirely to the ?de streets and gullies -Ponsonby Road for instance though thickly built, having apparently entirely escaped About this time last year Gao Road in Grafton Ward was the most fevertncken locality in the .cifcy. Several months ago it was drained, and now)

we find that not a single case has' occurred in that thoroughfare. The figures speak eloquently of the need of drainage in the infected parts of the city and show clearly that with good drainage the city may be made healthy and summer outbreaks of zymotic disease may be made a thing of the past.