THE ABOLITION OF CONSUMPTION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 22 October 1908, Page 3

THE ABOLITION OF CONSUMPTION.

f HOW IT MAY BE ACHIEVED IN

THIRTY YEARS.

DISEASE IN MILK.

WHITE BREAD AS THE "STAFF

OF DEATH."

Sir James Chrichton-Browne, in a presidential address at the Sanitary In- • spectors' Conference at Liverpool, expressed his belief in .the possible abolition of many diseases. "What has been done in the case of Malta fever (which was banished in 1907) may," he said, "be done in the cases of other maladies of a like kind." Sir James Crichton-Browne looks to the speedy abolition of tuberculosis. Professor Koch, in his address at the Congress on Tuberculosis in London in 1901, made his celebrated statement that human tuberculosis differed from bovine tuberculosis, that the infection of human beings from cows was but a very rare occurance, and that he did not deem it advisable to take any measures against infection by the milk and flesh of cattle. The Royal Commission on Tuberculosis, in their second interim report, showed, however, that the disease was undoubtedly transmissable from bovines to man, and Sir James Crichton-Browne, in his\ address, declared that milk "is one of the vehicles by which tuberculosis is distributed, both to infants and to adults." "ABOLISHED IN THIRTY YEARS." He dwelt on the necessity of children being reared on mother's milk. He said: "There you get milk of the proper composition nicely adapted to the age and constitution of the infant, without any laboratory manipulation, of the proper temperature, unexposed to air, and therefore free from bacterial contamination, unadulterated, undiluted, clean, and pure. Everything that is possible should be done economically, industrially, socially to induce ' mothers of all ranks and classes to nurse their infants. "Tubercular diseases are steadily diminishing throughout Great Britain, and we have every reason to hope that they will be altogether abolished in another thirty years. But if that consummation so devoutly to be wished for, is to be reached we must still be up and doing. We must insist on more active measures than those at present adopted being taken to prevent the sale and consumption of milk containing tubercle bacilli, for such milk undoubtedly still finds its Way to the consumer in considerable amount in Liverpool and other large towns. "You may have consumption in the Jgrown man or woman springing out of the tainted cow's milk given to them in the cradle., The summary slaughter of animals proved to be infected should enable us to Stamp out bovine tuberculosis in a comparatively short- time, and thus to cut off the main source of human infection." THE STAFF OF DEATH. Consumption also came under discussion at the meeting of the British \ e «nciation in* Dublin. One speaker showed it to be the case that the popularity of white flour — supplanting the oatmeal,' which was richer in phosphates — was a direct cause of the increase of consumption. The percentage of deaths of this disease is always higher after bad harvests than after good ones, and poverty and consumption grow together. The greatest cause of all was indifferent food, and where ?breadstuffs are the staple diet, the popular white flour was the staff of death, not the staff of life. In connection with food and tuberculosis, samples of asses', mares', goats', and cows' milk were shown. Each had [its special virtue, especially the milk of i the goat, which is an animal quite immtjne from tuberculosis.