OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2741, 8 April 1916, Page 11

OUR BABIES

TBY Htgeia.l Published under tho auspices of tho Royal New Zealand Health Society for the Health of Women and Children. It ib wiser to put up a fence at the top of a, precipice tlian to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." A DANGEROUS NEIGHBOUR: THE HOUSE FIA\ The following is tho conclusion of tho 1 report of Dr.. Champtaloup's lecture, the i iirsc part of which was given last week:— FLIES AS CARRIERS OF MICROBES. Dr. Champtaloup gave several remarkable proofs of the transmission of bacteria by /lies, and said that Dr. Nash, in his annual report for 1909, summarised the .position as follows:— With . legs, bodies, and intestines ladou with outrefactive germs, these flies in the fly season swarm all over all exposed food, drown themselves in every uncovered jug or cup of milk, range over every, tin of condensed milk or piece of sugar on which they can alight, each fly contributing its quota of generally unknown and often unmentionable filth, - including its own intestinal evacuations, polluting human food to such an extent as in a short time to convert, for instance, milk from a wholesome food to a virulently dangerous poison . He next showed two slides illustrating plainly what happened when a house fly with dirty feet walked over foodstuff on which bacteria could grow. The first showed a Petriplate filled with nutrient gelatine upon which a house fly just from a dish, of dirty water, was allowed to wander for a moment. The plate was covered and- set in a warm place for three Wherever the fly's feet touched the gelatine, and where the body dragged, the bacteria grew. The tracks. of the wandering fly were marked in colonies-of hving bacteria, many thousands in each; j. he other slide showed .a somewhat similar condition, though accidentally produced. Dr. Champtaloup proceeded to discuss some disease bacteria which fliescarry and the diseases they give rise to. Among these were tuberculosis and various parasitic disease.

MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS. One authority stated that in the United States of America there .died'annually 49,000 babies l under two years of age. as a result of intestinal, affections duo. to flies. In many of the largo towns-' of Groat Britain the infantile mortality per SE2 u ? l i^' as rom to 150 or more per 1000 babies born, and infantile diarrhoea played a largo .part in this enormous waste of child life. On comparing the figures for rsew Zealand during the last 10 years we find that the average proportion of deaths of infants under one year of age to every 1000 births was 71.9, whale England and AVales was • 109, a marked difference in our favour, and an indication of the better sanitary conditions under which w© live. Of the total deaths under one year of age in New Zealand during the years 19064910, 19.8, or nearly 20 per cent., were clue to diarrhoea, these figures by no means indicating the actual number, of persons attacked. Dr. jNewsholme, medical officer to 'the Local Government Board,; said that opened cans of . condensed milk were often seen black with flies, attracted by tho sugar in the milk, and he attributed to them a con-siderable-.share in the causation of diarrhoea m children.- . Typhoid fever was a disease- upon which;, much investigation hau been made, in its relation, to flies, .and that insect had been found guilty up to the hilt. Iho excessive death rate in the camps of tho American soldiers during the bpamsh-American AVar did moTb than anything else to call attention, to, tlia importance of the fly ae a distributor of the germs of typhoid.. Fortunately, wo now had a means of prophylactic injection against typhoid which had already very considerably reduced both the attack and death, rate among our soldiers m India. It would be unwise, however, to state that the fly was the chief source pf the spread oi typhoid, • cholera, and dysentery and diarrhoea, until we hail facts definitely '!•, 10 fly certainly a factor,' but proof had yet to be brought that it was the chief .factor. . NOTE BY "HYGIEA." ' ' iWh a f "^ r; clearly conveys' is that we have every reason to regard the house fly as a leading factor in carry, mg the germs of various diseases, - and milfc C m depositin S tllei n in our It was the great surgeon, Sir -Joseph' Lister, who said long ago that ho knew ot only one species of microbe that would not flourish and multiply with extreme lap dity. in milk., He pointed out that milk might bo regarded as ideal-culture medium and - breeding-ground for all h J vi ? ,v of this and the. fact that the fly, from its ' habits and the filth m' which it revels, is such a universal conveyer,, of all- sorts and conditions of microbes one ,can see how extremely important it is to keep down t 10, pest, and to specially guard against the possibility of its entering the. iniik Dr., Champtaloup certainly brought home to all-of us who had the privilege or attending his lecture that the familiar spectacle of a fly or two struggling in the milk is a very much more serious matter than. the presence of a'considerable quantity of ordinary dirt which most people would regard as very much " more disgusting and "bbjectionable. "Clean dirt" may contain more -or less germo ; but the house fly however, gclean lie may look, should always be regarded as hav-' nig come in all ; probability direct from unmentionable filth, the living germs of which he carries in his person. Viewing the- drowning fly in this light, many, of -us. said at the conclusion of the lecture" that we should never again be able to regard milk as safe and unpolluted after merely removing •' the flies. We know better now, and we knu«- tnat, especially in the case of babies, such milk would not be entirely safe to uso even after scalding it, seeing that tho spores of minute organisms may survive the boiling-point. While giving duo attention to warding oft the germs of diseases, we must never lose sight of the fact that this is not the first line of defence. The first line of defence against every form of disease and. every species of microbe is the mawtenance of a high standard of health and fitness, so-that if 'dangerous germs do gain access to' the system, the ceils of the body will be in such good Hunting form that they will either prevent the microbes from making an effective landing, or will defeat them after they hare become established. Good air, good food, proper exercise, and regular healthy habits form the first lino of defence.' This was clearly inferred in Dr. Champtaloup's lecture. DESTRUCTION OF FLIES.The last section of tho address briefly dealt with some of the means for the destruction of tho. house fiv and its,, haunts. In- tho essential matter of cleanliness ■ compulsory legislation and inspection could play only a part in prevention. Other facts must bo the education of Jho public in matters of general sanitary knowledge, and in the importance' of breast-feeding and proper care of food, to which their society was paying so much attention with such excellent results. In educative measures •particular attention, should be directed to the school child in inculcating knowledge of matters bearing on household cleanliness.—(Applause.) Attention should bo given to frequent removal of| all .accumulations of dirt, dust, or ma- ; nitre. All refuse should be stored pending removal, in properly-constructed covered can's. ' All foodstuffs, particularly milk, should be protected from contamination by fine gauze or other substance. In conclusion, the lecturer explained several effective flv-traps and fly poisons. He sat down amid hearty and prolonged applause. . -