SCARLET FEVER.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14761, 3 September 1913, Page 12

SCARLET FEVER.

t SCARE IN THB HOUSE. JOURNALIST ISOLATED. HEALTH DEPARTMENT METHODS. 'bpeciai, to "the press.") WELLINGTON, September 2. Tho fact that an habitue of the House of Representatives has contracted fever and has been isolated, occasioned a littlo discussion in Parliament this afternoon. Some of the questions asked in tho cose had a direct bearing upon tho course taken hy the Health Department in the matter. Tho question was first raised by Mr | Clark giving notice ol tho following question, atturesswl to the Minister o" Public Health:— "If ii is a fact that a member uf the Press Gallery has been committed to an infectious hospital in Wellington, suffering from an infectious t disease, and is the Minister of Public j Health aware that another reporter j who was in contact wiih iho patient, I ling been denied thc to enter the j Press Gallery, but- that no restrictions I have been placed on his movements i outside. As thU gentleman *- s not ! recognised as a hermit, are the jiooph* I of Wellington not entitled to some pro- | tix'tion:-" j Following this question, Mr Witty [ asked what tho Health Department j intended to do with the case of scarlet i fever mentioned in the Chamber itseli. ! They had a member who had been in ; close, contai-t with tho patient—some | people oven understood that he had ! assisted thc patient to bathe, or that at least, ho had rubbed him down and I rubbod himself down afterwards. Thi, member was still going freely about in I that Chamber, and among the members , las well. On tho other hand, two members of tlio Press Gallery who had also ; ! como in contact with the patient were , i informed that they had better keep ; away from the Press Gallery for some-, time, but thoy wero told that there i was no harm in going to hotels or in j ! mixing among thc general public. Now. j if there was any danger at ail, they , ! should have been barred from going ; among tho public. | Tho Hen. 11. 11. Ilhcdes: Mr ; Speaker. I must riso to a point of i order. 1 am quite prepared to answer any direct question, but I submit the | hon. member has lio right to speak to ! tho question. i Thc Speaker said that verbal quosi tior.s must be concise. j Mr Witty: 1 am asking why one party is "barred from going into tho Press Gallcrv, whilst other contacts arc allowed to mix freely in this Houso, and 1 am asking what the. Health Department is doing in tho matter ; whether there is any danger m the first pl.acc, and if there is any danger, why thero is this differentiation. The Hon. It. H. Rhodes said that there wa.s no risk of contracting the disease until tho patient began to peel. Thia, ho believed, was accepted by reliablo medical authorities. As a further precaution he had ordered that tho Press room should be fumigated. ! lie had not barred anyone from attend- | ing in that Chamber or anywhere else. THE FACTS OF THE CASE. Tho facts of the caso are that tho correspondent of the "'New Zealand Herald" (Auckland) was sickening on Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday morning was advised to see tho District Health Officer. He did this about noon, and was immediately sent to the infectious diseases hospital. Residing iv the same houso with him were two members of Parliament. Two members of tho Press Gallery came into special contact with the patient on Sunday afternoon, when he was sickening, and these were specially nd vised by the District Health Authorities to lcm-c the nrecincts of Parliament ,for eight days. The members of Pnrli*#ient, however, were in no way restricted or coni strained. One "of them was understood to have closely examined the patient, and was not even naked by tho health authorities to clianjro his clothes. He was about tho buildings all day on Monday. His room and the Press Gallery were fumigated this morning. , On it being represented to the health authorities that tho M.P. carried as much risk of infection as the Pressmen, and that if they were excluded, he also should be. consent was civen that they could return. In the first place the "advice" jriven by tho authorities that they should remain away, was accepted' as an order, and so acted upon.