TREATMENT OF DIPHTHERIA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19658, 9 June 1927, Page 12

TREATMENT OF DIPHTHERIA

: SUCCESS OF MODERN METHOD | THE PAPATOETOE > OUTBREAK. The value of anti-toxin in the treatment of diphtheria was referred to by Dr.' H. , Chesson, medical officer for health, when I commenting yesterday on the mildness of 1 the present outbreak at Papatoetoe. ' " Thirty years ago diphtheria claimed a ] higher mortality rate than typhoid and j was one of the most dreaded diseases ' known," said Dr. Chesson. "About 40 per 1 cent, of the cases proved fatal, and I medical men were powerless to check epi- , demies. With the advent of anti- . toxin, however, the disease was mastered, i especially if taken in the early stages, i " The* Auckland Province is practically immune from the disease compared with f other parts of New Zealand," said Dr. i Chesson. "In the South Island epidemics J are more frequent." i In describing the methods employed by the Health Department to suppress - the disease at Papatoetoe, Dr. Cnesson . said the assistant medical health officer » had visited the school there on several f occasions. The building had been disint fected several times, as well as those 1 homes from which a patient had been rer moved to hospital. Any people, whether ' children or adults, who had complained of t sore throats had been examined. If there r were any signs of congestion or inflamma- . tion swabs had been taken. When the . result of a swab was " positive," signifyi ing that germs were present, every at- > tempt had been made to isolate the peri son affected. Although the health officers were partiI cnlariy suspicious of any sore throats at . Papatoetoe it was impossible to " swab " , everyone. Hundreds of people possessed r non-virulen'. organisms in the throat,*and i if mr.h people were " swabbed " .and , " positive " results obtained over 10 per cunt, of the population would be in isolation. The great danger with diphtheria was the earner of germs, who, although not affected with the disease himself, invariably was the cause of infecting others. " We have the present outbreak well in hand," concluded Dr. Chesson. " The very nature of the disease prevents the total cessation of fresh cases, and even if there were several more cases there would be no cause for alarm," INFECTIOUS DISEASES. j - NOTIFICATIONS IN MAY. Notifications of infectious diseases in the Auckland provincial health districts during May totalled 188, as. compared with 179 in the previous month. Largely as a result of the outbreak of diphtheria at Papatoetoe the number of cases of this disease notified in May was 77, compared with 57 in the previous month. Notifications of other diseases for May include the following, the figures for the previous month being given in parentheses Scarlet fever, 25 (29); enteric fever, 7 (18) ; tuberculosis, 24 (30); influenza (pneumonic), 0 (3); pneumonia, 24 ( 25); puerperal fever, 16 (9); beriberi, 2 (0).