THE SMALLPOX EPIDEMIC

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 July 1913, Page 5

THE SMALLPOX EPIDEMIC

STAMPING IT OUT,

PROSPECT LESS BRIGHT. BY TELEGRAPH—PER PRESS ASSOCIATION- • WELLINGTON, July 18. Dr Valiutirie says the prospect of stamping out the epidemic are not so bright to-day as they appeared yesterday. The suspected cases found in Wellington to-day Have been isolated, also a contact who came from Kawakawa. Th© City Council have placed the. Isolation Hospital at Berhampore at the disposal of ’ the Hospital Board. AUCKLAND, July 18. Two Europeans have been removed from the city to the ’ Isolation Hospital, and a suspicious case reported, making a total of 30 patients in the hospital. WHANGAREI, July 18.

The fact that persons who can produce certificates of successful vaccination can move about without restriction, seems to require immediate attention from the Department of Public Health, for the present regulations are more or less a futility. For instance, a Maori who observed a rash breaking out on his body called on the medical superintendent of the Wlian-gar-ei Hospital in town a couple of days ago to find out what was the matter. He exhibited all the symptoms of the prevailing malady, and also a certificate of successful vaccination.

He was directed immediately to go into the isolation ward,' but it was six hours before the hospital claimed him as ‘ a

patient, the interval having been spent in town and at a boarding house.

There was nothing to prevent this man, though he was highly infectious or contagious; travelling about, or even going to Auckland.

Indeed, he had the necessary passport of “successful vaccination” certificate. As there are to-day two, patients in the isolation ward of the hospital who ha< - been quite recently successfully vaccinated the defect in the present regulations ia obvious.

Representations on this subject are being made to the Health Department by the Hospital Board. SYDNEY, July 18.

That all vaccination depots will again be very busy, is foreshadowed by the cdfn-puls-ory measures coming into effect. Many vaccines are having a bad time, large numbers being absent from work, unable to use their arms. This is proving a serious handicap to business houses. Tha authorities state, that nearly all the patients so far have never been vaccinated, and add that anyon erecently vaccinated would resist the present epidemic. The police are much reduced by vacciiiatious i and over two hundred are off duty.

The newspaper office staffs are similarly reduced and numbers of pressmen are hors do combat.

Everywhere in the streets people Are cautiously nursing the left am i there are many complaints that the doctors axe too free with the use of the lymph tubes, which should be sufficient for a dozen, and are exhausted in less than half a doz-

MELBOURNE, July 18

Five vaccination depots have, been opened, and there has,been a great rush of applicants.

BRISBANE, July 18.

A man who arrived at Toowoomba from Sydney three weeks ago has developed supposed smallpox. He lias been isolated, and strict precautions are being taken. * SYDNEY, July 18.‘ Only one smallpox case was reported in Sydney to-da.v.

A case was reported from Ulmarrd. SYDNEY, This Day

Since contagion first became known 288 cases of smallpox have been treated, whereof 55 patients and 164 convalescents are still in quarantine., About 59 have been discharged. Mr Holman states that the Compulsory Vaccination Bill will apply to infants only.

The Maheno’s passengers and crew were examined, and those ,-iot uccessfully vaccinated were re-vaccinated before releas 4 MELBOURNE, This Day. Som 50,000 people have been vaccinated.

OFFICIAL BULLETIN,

WELLINGTON, July 18i

The Health Officer’s buletin states: There are now thirty cases under treatment in Auckland Hospital, three being Europeans. It lias > been found necessary to increase the hospital accommodation by eight beds, and a marquee has been obtained from the Defence Authorities for this purpose. The news from the outlying districts is as follows ; —Dr. Wadmore reports a case at Te Teko; Dr. < Neville reports a case at Mnrrinsville ;• Dr. Liuichmqr.e reports one at Tirau. Altogether there are some twenty-three cases isolated in the Auckland province. . Excluding those Mentioned in the Auckland Hospital three Europeans have been isolated at Kawakawa, in, tire .native school, near . that town. Dr. Buck proceeds to Wliangarei - to-night with an ample supply of lymph, and a nurse has been despatched to Kawakawa. Dr Baker reports some doubtful cases at Kaihu. Neither Dr. Gunn nor Dr. Ross have made any special report today. No further cases have been reported from Hawke’s Bay; but a-case has been isolated in- Wellington. There is still a great demand for. vaccine from all parts of the country, and there is quite enough to meet reasonable,demands of the country vaccinators. .

CASE IN WELLINGTON. ' WELLINGTON, This Day.

The Wellington suspect has been dktgonised as typical small pox, though'in a very mild stage, and unlikely to carry infection. ’ The patient is a woman who came recently, from KawakawaShe is isolated, as also are all who have been in contact with her. These have all been vaccinated, and the Health authorities have 1 taken such precautions as will, it is believed, prevent any possibility of the disease gaining ground in the city. An unverified rumour is current late to-night that a second case has deevloped. the person affected having attended Hie Race Ball last night. GETTING NEAR HOME. (Our Parliamentary Reporter). WELLINGTON, This Day. Members of Parliament who were vaccinated last Saturday are now congratulating themselves upon their precaution. Yesterday''a case of suspicions sickness in a European woman was reported in Wellington. It is now reported the suspect in question belongs to the household of a ’ northern member of Parliament, whose absence from his seat in the House yesterday was the subject of Sonic lively speculation among his fellow parliamentarians.

The. non-appearance of the member is attributed in short to his isolation for observation purposes as a possible contact.