HEALTH IN AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18941, 12 February 1925, Page 11

HEALTH IN AUCKLAND.

TWENTY YEARS' PROGRESS. SYDNEY EXPERT'S REVIEW. WAR ON INSECT PESTS. An expert comparison between the insanitary conditions of Auckland in 1907 and its vastly improved hygienic standaid to-day was the basis of an informative lecture last evening by the Medical Health Officer of Sydney, J)r. J. 8- Purdy, to members of the Auckland Sanitary Inspectors' Association. Dr. Purdy was formerly health officer for this district and made it clear that he had not forgotten some of the crudities that confronted the department in his day. He noted the remarkable progress that had beep made in 18 years, but salted his eulogy of the city with a reminder that the insect pest, especially mosquitoes and flies, was still a menace to community health. There was a good attendance of members, with the president of the Auckland centre of the association, Mr. W. W. Murray, in the chair. The Medical Health Officer tor the Auckland district, Dr. T. J. Hughes, introduced the lecturer, who was given a cordial welcome. " The first time I was in Auckland was in January, 1901," said Dr. Purdy. "It was then a comparatively small city and the lethargy of its inhabitants, as a critic had said, was but. little disturbed by the stir of the outside world. -After war service in South Africa with the Sixth New Zealand Contingent, and experience in Egypt as a medical health officer I returned to Auckland to take up the position now held by Dr. Hughes. The city was then in a state of transition. I l, ave been very much strrack after an ab—suce of 15 years with the remarkable growth of Auckland. The metropolitan area is three times the size it was in 1907, and the population has increased from 67,000 to 175,000. That is really remarkable progress. Lower Death Kates. " The metropolitan death rate in 1907 was 11.43 pet thousand, whereas last year it was 9,03 per thousand. This is a feature common to New Zealand. Then the reduction of the Dominion's infantile mortality rate has been the admiration of the whole world. In 1907 the rate was 97.3 per 1000; last year it was only 43, which is very remarkable. As a matter of fact, there is no other part of the world with so low an infantile mortality rate, except the West of Ireland, which is one of tho most insanitary districts i«* the British Empire. Its infantile mortality is only 38 per thousand, I>ut tiiere, almost without exception, the children are breast fed, and the mothers live on a diet, strong in vitamines —milk, butter, and potatoes." The lecturer gave statistics concerning the natural feeding of children in Sydney whern in 1916 no fewer than 93 per cent, of the total number of mothers naturally fed their children. In recent years, however, the percentage rate had decreased to as low as 56. There was still too high a mortality rate in respect of infants in their first year. The only country in which there had been a material reduction was Holland, which had concentrated on the training of maternity nurses. A commission was studying the question in Australia and doubtless a chair ot midwifery would be established in the main centres. Incidence of Typhoid. " When I came to Auckland in 1907," continued the lecturer, " there was a serious outbreak of typhoid fever. There were 323 cases. The epidemic started in Newmarket and the Health Department believed that the infection was spread entirely by flies. Sanitary conditions were crude. Consider the remarkable difference last year, when there were only -19 cases of typhoid in the whole of the* Auckland province. That is a wonderful record. " The time will come when you will aspire to have no cases at all. The only city in the world that enjoys that condition to-day is Edinburgh, due entirely to its sanitary methods. Sydney has been very fortunate, too. the number of cases i being equal to one-thirteenth of the total 35 years ago. It has a population of 1,150,000 in the Metropolitan are a. and it has been calculated that bv 1950 the total of inhabitants will be 2,900.000. That estimate is acceptable for in 191] Dr. Had field's estimate for 1920 was proved to be only nine short of the actual number. " Here in Auckland yon arc gradually developing a greater Auckland. The time will come when you will have one administrative controlling authority for all the metropolitan area between the Waitemata and tho Manukau. Of course, I can quite understand why Newmarket is so proud of being a model suburb as it is." Advantages Over Sydney. " Auckland is far ahead of Sydney in regard to concrete roads. It. also has a fine tramway service, and your safety zones appeal very much to mo. I do not know how they would do in the narrow streets of Sydney. Your tramway shelters are better than any I have seen in any other town. I also sec that Auckland is beginning to have its milk supplies delivered in bottles, and its system of pasteurisation is genuine pasteurisation. I have been pleased to see the enormous improvement that has been made in respect of milk distribution, but I regret to have seen that only one of the establishments I inspected was free from flics." The lecturer urged the destruction of insect pests and cited what had been done in Egypt in securing the extermination of malarial mosquitoes.