LEPER "ROUNDUP"

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 223, 20 September 1938, Page 10

LEPER "ROUNDUP"

COMBING OF ISLANDS.

TASK OF DR. E. P. ELLISON.

MEASLES EPIDEMIC ABATES.

It is all in the life of a chief medical officer in the Pacific Islands. Influenza —a measles epidemic—and now a hunt round the islands for lepers. That is the recent history and the immediate prospect of Dr. K. P. Ellison, C.M.0., of the Cook Islands. who arrived in Auckland by the Matua.

Dr. Kllison lias been 20 years in the health service in tlie islands, and ho is bound now for Suva, where lie will join a chartered schooner and make a trip round the outlying inlands, and Samoa, weokinjr ""t cases of leprosy. It is not an easy task, as can he imagined. Naturally the natives eiiil"eriii"j from tlie disease are scared of the consequences, and, not realising tlie danger to themselves as well as to tlie communities in which they live, do not Hko being taken away from their islands to one of the leper stations—even though there is every chance that they will be cured and he" able to return api in to their island homes to resume their normal lives. Take to the Bush. With the medical officer and his assistants on the hunt for them they take to the bush, and sometimes they have to be taken out by force. There is even a chance that tliev may become violent

. . . which led Dr. Kllison this morning to remark: "I'll probably be back here some time in November—if I don't ;rct cracked over the head bv one of the lepers!"'

. Tliis in the fourth systematic "combing"' of the islands for leprosy that lias been made. The Jirst was made in I!<2<>, and there was a second one in 1!»2S. There was not another search made then until ]!».V>, immediately following the hurricane. That yielded 3~> patients, an unusually hijrh total, the reisult of the long period since tlio previous 'round-up."' Jt is not exjK-cted that the. present search will re'sult in such high figures. The iepere will be left at Suva on the return of the vessel for transference to the leper colony. Two Month's' Epidemic. Dr. Kllison states that the measles epidemic in the Cook Islands ia now in its final phase. Nearly 700 cases had. been dealt with at Karotonga, and there were now only 12 convalescing in the remaining field hospital that had been left open at the northern end of the island. Most of the restrictions had" now been lifted, and the schools would soon be ojK'iied and the remaining restrictions abolished.

It was a two months' hard struggle, and the drama and humour of the situation were revealed by Dr. Ellison. He retailed what has already l>oen told by Dr. F. W. W. Dawson* regarding the origin of the disease with some cured lejK'i-s who returned to the islands, via Aiu-kluml. He liad just ftiwessfully combated an outbreak of influenza, and became ill him>elf from the same cause. The natives were admitted, and it was not until live weeks later that the first case of measles was found by himself. It was the first case of the disease he had seen in 20 years in the islands, and he was worried as to the etfect it would Have on the natives. ]„ the record of a similar epidemic in 1840 it was noted that about 10(10 had died. Ihe first case was found on .Tulv 1 and Dr Kllison took all precautions to isolate th« case including the placing of a native police guard round the house. One enthusiastic helper actually '■nor n yellow quarantine flag outside the house. However, the following dav another case was f0,, m 1. and when ten more were located on the tlurd dav i was known that the disease was abroad. A Mμ dance had l,een held, attended bv " a ;;°" f 7 ""Parts of the island, and so me of the returning lepers had gone on to other islands in the group. The schooner whu-h took then, had already by this time made a 2000-mile circuit of the proup and adjacent islands.

An Emergency Meeting. c-.Ued iTTf'"Sir reOeti " g WaS at once Ho i> ■•> ■ K11 " ,, "' " c "mpany with the Hesident Commissioner Mr. S J Nm.th. and measures taken to "combat and restrict the spread of the disease as much as All gatherings were prohi hlted and the schools turned into held hospitals. Dr. Ellison paid a high tribute to the work of the European residents, visitors, and others who had manned those hospitals and carried on under difficulties over a gruelling period. Among those who helped was Mrs O S Swinnock. of Brown's Bay, Auckland! who bad been making a visit to the island. She had taken charge of a hospital for a while and ksd assisted in every possible way. The disease was fortunately not of a serious form, though temperatures had risen in some oases as high as 100.2 deg. The volunteer workers had contributed considerably to the fact that not one life had been lost.

The work was arduous but was not without its humorous side. Superstition and witeh-doctory had to be combated and also the native attitude to the disease. They would .get under the tap, or into the soa—so that the cold water would "cool" them and stop the itch! I hoy thereby laid themselves open to pneumonia and other complications. One Ins strapping native youth in the convalescent stages of the disease had followed a nurse about asking her Jo take bis tem]H'iature "as he wanted to see how he felt!" Chasing the Patients. The inland was without a policeman during most of the trouble, and Dr Ellison commented that they had felt i> need of one badly, as they had not the authority of the law to back up their regulations, and he had. himself, had to go from house to house "chasing" the patients to hospital.

Two sisters of the order of St. Josepl of Chiny, who have a mission in tin island, and have recently been enjjaced in nunsing work there, "were also passengers by the Matua to Auckland.