"WEATHER IN OUR FAVOUR"

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21978, 30 December 1936, Page 10

"WEATHER IN OUR FAVOUR"

THREE CITY SUSPECTS PROVED NEGATIVE PRECAUTIONS TO CONTINUE AGAINST PARALYSIS "The weather and everything else have been in our favour so far, but there may still be a few carriers about," said Dr. T. Fletcher Telford, medical officer of health for the CanterburyWestland district, in commenting last evening on the precautions taken to prevent the spread of infantile paralysis from Dunedin. Dr. Telford issued a warning to parents not to relax their vigilance over children, and emphasised the necessity of continuing the restrictions at present in force. Three suspected cases which have been in the Christchurch Hospital since Monday have now all been found to be negative. These were a boy of three years, and a small girl, from the city area, and a girl of 14 from Redcliffs. In each case quarantine had been imposed on the family from which the child came, but on the cases being reported to be negative this restriction was immediately lifted. Dr. Telford added that the danger of a spread of the disease would not pass over in a week or two, and it would therefore be necessary to maintain all precautions until official advice was given that this was no longer necessary. The present instructions regarding the assembling of children in the Canterbury-Westland district are consequently still being rigidly enforced. Dr. Telford said he understood the case of the youth of 20, who was admitted to the Timaru Hospital on Christmas Day, as a suspect, had proved to be a positive case of infection. A suspected case of paralysis was admitted to the Waimate Hospital yesterday, but no result was available from the diagnosis last evening. ONE MORE SUSPECTED CASE AT DUNEDIN GIRL ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL (PKESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) DUNEDIN, December 29. Up till a late hour to-night, only one case, a girl five years of age, was admitted to the Dunedin Hospital for observation. There can hardly be any doubt that the precautions taken by the Health Department authorities in the city, and the active co-operation of parents and others, have contributed in a large measure to the restriction of the incidence of infantile paralysis. The number of cases received at the hospital during the last few days has shown a steady diminution, compared with the returns a week or more ago. HEALTH DEPARTMENT BULLETIN POSITION REVIEWED STRICT CARE OF CHILDREN STILL URGED (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, December 29. A Health Department bulletin says: "There are no cases in Canterbury except one reported from Timaru yesterday. The doubtful cases admitted to hospital at Christchurch have been proved negative. In Dunedin, a six-year-old girl admitted to hospital was found to be a positive case; but she isj not suffering from paralysis. Her case is a mild one. One boy of five, from Waipori, has been placed under ob-' servation. These are the only cases notified during the 24 hours. "The Wellington patients are doing well. It is very doubtful whether the boy of 15 admitted to hospital on Sunday has contracted the disease, and extreme doubt also exists in the cases of the other two Wellington children still in isolation. The Dunedin boy in the Wellington Hospital is free from paralysis. "Although there has been a marked falling off in the number of cases reported, the department urges parents and others responsible for the control and care of children not to relax their efforts to keep children away from crowds or assemblages. The department unequivocally denies that it has been suppressing the announcement of notified cases. Every case notified to the department, whether doubtful or positive, has been reported to the newspapers. The teachers' summer school, which was to have been held at Napier, has been cancelled." POSTPONEMENT OF THE RIVERTON REGATTA "DECISION TO BE REGRETTED" (PBESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) INVERCARGILL, December 29. A recommendation that the Riverton regatta, postponed from Boxing Day because of the infantile paralysis epidemic, be held on January 9 was made at a public meeting at Riverton tonight. The Mayor (Dr. N. O. Trotter) said it was to be regretted that the regatta committee, acting on the advice of the Health Department, had decided to postpone the fixture. It now seemed nnparent, in view of the holding of gatherings in other centres, and pnHiculnrly a race meeting at Dunedin, the centre of infection, that such a nrccaution was unnecessary. The meeting decided to place the recommendation before the regatta committee.