THE TYPHOID EPIDEMIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18072, 22 April 1922, Page 10

THE TYPHOID EPIDEMIC

DISEASE IN ASYLUM. SIXTY CASES: ONE FATAL. SPREAD IN MOUNT ALBERT. NINE VICTIMS YESTERDAY. \ Nine new cases of typhoid fever were t notified from tie Mount Albert district I yesterday, but the astonishing informs- 1 tion was (rained that the disease was rag- c in; in the Mental Hospital, where 60 pati- 1 cats had developed typhoid. One of these, a cases has proved fatal and a number of L the remainder are very serious. Tho s Mental Hospital was using the Mount I ) Albert water supply until the city supply , f was substituted on Thursday of last week, j j As the Mental Hospital is controlled j f from Wellington the authorities are not j f required to notify sickness to the local j j. office of the Health Department or to scud i p patienta to the Auckland Hospital. Re- j ( ferring to this yesterday the district health i c officer, Dr. T. J. Hughes, said he had; heard of cases there last week, but as the I Mental Hospital was not under his control . j; he would not comment further upon the ! ' subject. The chairman of tho Hospital p Board. Mr. \V. Wallace, said the fact that • the Mental Hospital had a seflous out- j g break of fever within ts walls without \rf being required to notify the district health j ( officer was a condemnation of the system j of centralisation, which tho board had aliai a ways opposed. ! Of the tfne cases notified to the Health n Department five were admitted to the hos- « pital, the remainder being nursed in their j s' own homes- I Another case from Newtou Road ras ' 0 admitted to tho hospital. The Health De- p partment having investigated the history d the (our cases in the suburbs, infection in each case has been traced to visits of the oatients to Mount Albert last week. ' There are now 65 cases under treatment at the hospital, 55 of these being from d Mount Albert. Yesterday's total was 58 , ° cases, d which 50 were from the epidemic , s area. I i coherence will be held this morning i a between Dr. T. J. Hughee. Dr. R. H. * Makeill, and Mr. W. Wallace. ~. ' The matter of hospital accommodation ti is receiving the close attention of tho t Hospital Buard. The chairman, Mr. \\. g Wallace, said last evening that beds for a 7 females and 15 males will be still avail- t able. A blood test taken from 45 patients t had given a positive result in 43 cases, o one being doubtful and one being nega-! tive. The district nursing scheme was u organised ready for operation if necessary, j * and it was hoped that in suitable homes,; * patients would be nursed under the super- || vision of a nurse, and thus relievo the |j pressure at the hospital. The board was f willing to assist by supplying trained " nurses where such a course was considered a advisable. The patients were responding ' well to treatment, and aa the nursing * staff had been augmented, the board felt 2 confident they were coping well with the n situation. ! The visiting privileges for the hospital P will nr', apply to the typhoid patients, l who will not be permitted to have visitors. '■ The belief held in some quarters that * most of the cases of typhoid in Mounf « Albert have occurred in the lower areas c is disproved by the chart kept by the Health Department. The flags showing c the residence of each patient are distributed over the whole borough, somo being , even on the slopes of fte mountain. There , certainly are more flag s in the residential area thap in some outlying streets, but when the number of houses are considered ft is seen that the infection is general t throughout the wnole area formerly served , by the Mount Albert water supply, ( ■ > ■-' \ CLOSURE OF THE SCHOOLS. | ORDER IN FORCE NEXT WEEK. The Health Department has decided . that the schools in the district are to re- i! main closed for next week. The schools . l affected are the Boys' Grammar School, i ? Mount Albert Public School, Edendale, ' Eden Park, and Point Chevalier. c t INOCULATION ADVISED, j MANY TAKING PRECAUTION. jc The Health Department advises all ! B residents of Mount Albert to be inoculated against typhoid. Ample supplies of vac- | 6 cine are "available, and vaccine is being j prepared by the department. During the, last few years, since the department has \ t undertaken the inoculation of Maoris , j throughout the district, there has been a |. distinct decrease in the number of cases notified. f The inmates of the Methodist Orphanage t anil Industrial School at Mount Albert j have been inoculated as a precaution. Yesterday 144 residents were inoculated ! at the Mount Albert School by Dr. Davis, who will be in attendance at the same hours to-day. AVONDALE PRECAUTIONS. Precautions are being taken by the Avondale Road Board to prevent the spread of the epidemic to its district. The outside staff is engaged in cleaning the drains and inspecting the district, as advised by the Health Department. The drainage reticulation of the district is proceeding, and about 100 houses have the city water supply available, the remainder relying on rain water tanks. The beard < has ample supplies of cliloride of lime for . free distribution. ;