THE SMALLPOX OUTBREAK.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 23, 28 January 1904, Page 5

THE SMALLPOX OUTBREAK.

CHRISTCIIURCH SCARE SUBSIDED. fnY TELEGRAPH — PUESS ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHURCH, 27th Janutfty. The smallpox scaie has now completely subsided. All the patients are doing well. The schools will reopen on the Ist Februaiy. PRECAUTIONS AT SYDNEY. SYDNEY, 27th January. After medical inspection, the Mouowai, which arrived to-day from Wellington, came to the whurf. One unvaccinated passenger van quarantined, Tho Chri.stchuich claim* submitted for compensation in connection with the smallpox outbreak have been approved by the Minister, and the money will be forwarded presently. Tho attention of parent* whose children liave been vaccinated by a medical practitioner who is not a public vaccinator is calkd to section 148 of the Public Health Act, which provides that the medical practitioner must deliver to the parent, as soon as he has ascertained that tho vaccination bus been successful, a certificate. Within fourteen days after receipt of this certificate the parent must transmit tho same to the Vaccination Inspector (Registrar Births, Deaths, and Marriages Office), Wellington. A great many people who were formerly opposed to vaccination are now seeking it, especially since the prohibition of arm-to-arm vaccination, but there are still & large number of children who have not been vaccinated in infancy. During the last week the public vaccinators have been making a houge-to-house visitation, and havo also visited the Bchbols. No les3 than forty children were vaccinated yesterday at Brooklyn school. The names of those persons called on by the public vaccinators who refuse to submit their children to vaccination are being reported to tbe Vaccination Inspector, Mr. F. W. Mansfield, who is about to take proceedings yi such cases. There is still a steady stream of candidates for vaccination at the Health Department. A nuniber of suspicious cases havo been reported during the past few days, but so far the suspicious havo proved to be unfounded. Christchurch Truth remarks: — "Now that the smallpox epidemic has been safely got in hand^ we want to know all about that case on 3rd November. Dr. Mason professes to be able to trace the outbreak back to tbnt comparatively far off date. Had thnt ense been properly dealt -with there would have been no epidemic and probably no scare. Tho public demands a full enquiry. It wants to know who tho doctor wus who attended the case — whether he reported it '"to the Health Officer, and if not, why not? Also, it is anxious to ascertain if he did report it, why action was not taken sooner? In fact, it wants the blame allotted in the right 'place, and the delinquent, if there is a delinquent, mad© an example of. It is no use having a Health Department and spending a lot of money on its maintenance, if every epidemic is to have two months' clear field before the Department gets to work. Tho effect of that delay has been to put New Zealand to great loss and inconvenience. All Australia has declared us an infected State, and it will probably be af month before we get that embargo -removed." On the subject of these queries we have made enquiry of tho Health Department, and are informed that the matter has not been overlooked, and that a report- has been sent in by the Chief Health Offlear to the Minister for Public Health. Wo have made application to the Minister for tho report for publication. His reply is that) he is not now prepared to disclose all tho facts, which will bo published at tho proper timo.