THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11314, 8 March 1900, Page 4

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.

' 1 The decision of the New Zealand Government to place all vessels arriv- * * ing • at New Zealand ports from New South Wales in quarantine, owing tolls the prevalence in Sydney of the bubonic plague, has, we presume, been arrived at after mature consideration. It is a drastic measure, which, in view of the closeness and frequency of our communication with the proclaimed colony, the large passenger traffic be& tween New Zealand and Sydney, and the commercial interests involved, is 3 only to be justified on the grounds of :. urgent necessity.' Whatever dislo-.; cation of trade may ensue from the. V: decision of the Government, or whatever private inconvenience, it is}l clearly the duty of the Government to consider first of all the publio. health of the colony. While we do not believe that there is any serious danger of the bubonic plague assuming the character "of an epidemic in any of these colonies, even should it spread to all of them, no precautions, however stringent, should be neglected in order, if possible, to prevent its introduction. Experience shows that in the case of Europeans conforming to strict sanitary conditions, the risk of contagion is comparatively slight, but it has to be remembered that we have in this colony " a large native population, whose mode of living, generally speaking, is unsatisfactory, from a sanitary point of view. That fact renders it all the more important that every means possible should be used to keep the plague out of the colony. Considering the strong presumption that the disease is spread less by human beings than by vermin, the efficacy of quarantine is extremely problen*itical, but it is at least one safeguard, and almost the only means which can be adopted in the circumstances. It is obvious, however, that the measures taken by the Government do not go far enough. There is nothing to prevent intending passengers from Sydney reaching New Zealand by way, of Melbourne, thus escaping quarantine regulations, and possibly .introducing the plague. It may be that there are difficulties in the way of proclaiming the whole of Australia infected, but so long as the door is open to those from an infected place coming to the colony, as it is at present,; there will be a risk of the disease being brought to these shores. This point has, no doubt, been considered by the Government, and we may, therefore, conclude that there arei good reasons for, limiting the application of the quarantine to vessels from New South Wales ports, or that, in, the opinion of the Government, the danger to be apprehended from other' quarters does not warrant the adoption of more than ordinary precautions. It is now more than ever necessary that all local bodies should take active measures to enforce strict compliance with sanitary regulations', and that the public should heartily, co-operate with the authorities id that work.