COSTLY RAVAGES,

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 11 January 1926, Page 10

COSTLY RAVAGES,

It H E EMATISM IX IX DUSTR Y. GRAVITY OE THE DISEASE. LONDON, Dec. 1. At the headquarters of the Royal Society of Medicine, Wimpole street, a joint meeting was held or the International Society of Medical Hydrology and tile Balneology Section of the Koval Society of Medicine, to discuss rheumatism in industry—to discover tire .cause and secure its removal (.says tire i\ eiiingiou cost s London correspondent). Dr. Gustave Monod, trance (president of tne international .'society or Hydrology) was in the chair, and mere were present representatives oi Holland, Denmark, Switzerland ami other countries.

toir Cieorge .Neman (chief medical officer of tne Ministry of Health) oileretl the congratulations of the Aiinistiy on tfie eiiort that was being made by the society to grapple with "this formidable disease. ’ fa this country, through the channel of the Government, a survey of the incidence of this disease among the insured population had been prepared, No less than £2,000,000 was neing spent on sick beneiit per annum under the group of rheumatic diseases, and they were losing by this group of diseases the amazing amount of time among the insured population of 3,000,000 weeks annually, which was equal to the prodigious loss of time of 60,000 years per annum. Because of these figures the Government was compelled to recognise that these conditions were quite as serious a burden upon the State as some of the wellknown diseases, such as cancer or tuberculosis. There was need for more active and organised treatment, which was at present entirely inadequate. It was important to realise that they had come to the point when it was necessary in all countries to deal with this maiady. They had to he much more careful and accurate both in the discovery of the cause of infection and its removal, and this meant team work among medical men —a group of men grappling with it systematically and scientifically. At the Ministry of Health arrangements were being sought livIiv which they could establish nil arthritis unit in which diagnosis, treatment and prevention might all find some representation. Dr. J. Van Breemen. director of the Institute of Physical Treatment, Amsterdam, said that among his conclusions were that the spas should take measures to ensure the efficient treatment of panel patients, and that the foundation of an international committee to more scientific and practical unity into the study and combating of rheumatism was essential. The establishment of clinics and laboratories for methodical research in rheumatism was greatly to he desired. Dr. L. ,T. Llewellyn, president of the Balneology section, said that rheumatism in childhood was responsible for an enormous amount of heart disease. and was the recruiting ground from which many of our middle-aged invalids were drawn. It was calculated that in Great Britain there were between 46.000 and 50.000 children of solum! with organic heart disease. Tn London routine insnection showed that, of children aged 12. 3 tier cent of the hovs and 4 wr cent of the girls had heart defects. Tn the United 'states cardiac diseases were responsible for one in every six or seven deaths, tuberculosis being responsible for one in cverv 10 deaths.