BONE TUBERCULOSIS

Evening Star, Issue 18533, 16 January 1924, Page 1

BONE TUBERCULOSIS

VERY RARE IN WELLINGTON.

POSSIBLE BENEFIT FROM MILK CONTROL.

The telegraph reports o£ a discussion among members ,of the Christchurch Hospital Board upon the tubercular problem, and particularly the problem of “ bono ’* and “joint” tubercular cases, has awakened interest locally (says the ‘Post’) in the question of what is the position in Wellington. Speaking at the Christchurch Hospital Board meeting, Mr H. Holland said that tho position'in that district was serious. The bulk of tho cases were of children j there were thirty cases in tho hospital at that time, and thirty more could ba found outside .tjio hospital. A Dunedin doctor, continued Mr Holland, had stated that infected milk was the root cause of the trouble.

A reporter called on Dr* D. MacDonald Wilson, medical superintendent of Die Wellington Hospital, to inquire what was the position in that city, and was informed that in regard to tuberculosis of bone and joint Wellington was in a very happy position indeed, for cases wore extremely rare, while it was quite probable that tho municipal control of the city’s milk supply would make for still greater safety from risk of infection. “ There are several. forms 'of tuberculosis,” said Dr Wilson, “but the two forms which chiefly concern ua are the human and tho bovine, both of which may attack human beings. The bovine type in the main attacks children, so that any evidences of it are usually shown among young children, in attacks upon the glands of the neck, upon the bowels, or in the joints. In this hospital we see very few eases of this type, and, as a matter of fact, it is surprising to doctors coming from the Old Country that we see so little of it. It is rarely that we operate for tubercular glands in the neck, and at the present time we have only one case of bone tuberculosis in the wards, and that case came in about three months ago. We have, however, several cases that were transferred from the Trentham Hospital, but those are of several years’ duration. That is, we have had only one case of bono tuberculosis within tho past twelve months, and we seldom have more than one child in at a time. There are four cases of spin® • tuberculosis, each of them of soma years’ duration; but there is nothing definite to show that these are not cases of tho human type, and not bovine at all; upon that point specialists are not agreed. “All this goes to show, considering th® discussion that has taken place elsewhere, that we are in a position of comparative freedom.”

A question was asked by tha * Post's ’ representative aa to whether It was possible or probable that the special care which the corporation took over the supply of the great bulk of milk consumed m Wellington was a likely cause of the city being so free from this type of tuberculosis.

“That question cannot be answered yea or no os yet,” replied Dr Wilson, "for it is perhaps too early at present to sea definitely the result of the municipal control; but I do feel this, that in the future the corporation’s control will still farther reduce tho risk of infection. As far as bovine tuberculosis is there is no need for tho people of Wellington to ‘get the wind up,’ and it Is quite likely that the position will be Still better itt the future as a,result of the council taking the. matter up.” : , ■ Asked if there was any reason why there should be so many cases in Christ, church, Dr Wilson said he could advance no suggestion, but it was only fair to point out that It was qnite possible that tho very considerable amount of propaganda work done down there in connection with tho special provisions made for tho treatment of tubercular oases of all types had attracted patients there for treatment. Christchurch, of course, had no system of municipal control ouch as there was in Wellington. Speaking of the treatment of milk generally, Dr Wilson remarked that throughout Canada and the United States the thorough supervision of milk supply was a regular thing in all large cities. The bottle system was compulsory, and milk which was not pasteurised—i.e., put through a treatment similar to that followed in the corporation depot here —must,, under the law,, come from certified herds of cowa which had been tested for signs of tuberculosis and found to bo free from infection. In that way the American or Canadian authorities sought to reduce risk to a minimum, but oven with milk from certified and tested herds there was some risk, since a herd which passed a test, say, six months ago, might not wholly pass again to-day.