TYPHOID AT WAIKERIA.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 14, 17 January 1929, Page 6

TYPHOID AT WAIKERIA.

It is not easy to trace an attack of typhoid to "bad sanitation." It is far easier to trace it to a human source of contagion. The usual method of contracting the disease is bv the use of food or drink containing typhoid bacteria, and "bad sanitation" can convey the disease only when sewage is typhoid ladea. It is more commonly possible to contract sore throat from filth than typhoid, although hi the old days typhoid was named a "filth disease." The Otahuhu railwaymen are justified in requesting special attention to their surroundings if there is—as they reporttyphoid in the neighbourhood, because a carrier might convert otherwise harmless unpleasantness into the cause of fatalities. Water and milk are often infected in the handling. The authorities in the Waikeria inquirv did not lay sufficient stress upon the fact* that one case had been wrongly diagnosed as "gastric influenza." The modern practitioner requires a blood test, but his predecessors knew typhoid when they saw it—with certainty if thev had a thermometer—and th\s comment is made to draw attention to the need for medical opinion of any feverish condition when tvphoid is ia the neighbourhood and the immense importance of cleanliness in sanitarv conveniences everywhere—especially on trains and at stations. CARE.