SOLDIERS' HEALTH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23489, 28 October 1939, Page 13

SOLDIERS' HEALTH

INFLUENZA IN CAMP PATIENTS AT TRENTHAM HOSPITAL FACILITIES . [nv telegraph—imikss association] WELLINGTON. Friday Commenting on the presence of influeiP/.a at Trentham camp, the officer commanding the central military district, Colonel E. Puttick, said that out of a strength of ISOO men there were about 150 cases of influenza of the usual spring-timo type so prevalent at the present time among the civilian population. It had also, been experienced among the troops at Fort Dorset and Mount' Victoria. So far about 10 per cent of the men had reported sick with this complaint. Active steps were taken immediately to deal with the situation. There wore four medical officers normally at the camp and, if necessary, these would be increased. The camp hospital was now in full operation, and other buildings, including the former hospital building, were in uso to accommodate the patients. Trained nurses of the Army Nursing Service were in attendance and nursing orderlies from the Field Ambulance were being provided. Food supplied to men on the sick list was in accordance with the directions of the medical officers. "During the convalescent stage of approximately a week the men are accommodated in huts to avoid any possibility of spreading the complaint through the barracks and tents, as the hospital accommodation at tlio camp is necessarily limited," Colonel Puttick said. "All patients with a high temperature who are likely to remain in hospital beyond the normal period are sent to tlio Wellington Public Hospital. "Apart from influenza, the health of the men has been good. While influenza is present, however, special precautions are taken to avoid men getting wet, and units are required to limit their training activities to . within a mile radius of the camp. During the past two days the number of men reporting sick has been approximately 20 a day, so that so far the complaint shows no sign of increasing. "There is no foundation for the rumour that the sickness is due to the recent inoculation. The inoculation is the customary inoculation • against enteric fever, and there is no connection between the two. The DirectorGeneral of Medical Services has given a definite assurance on this point." MAORI BATTALION ENLISTMENTS TRAINING BEGINS NEXT MONTH [by telegraph —own correspondent] "WELLINGTON, Friday Enlistments in the Maori battalion for service with the special force are. only one short of 800. The are divided between the three military districts as follows: —Northern, 559; central, 221; southern, 19, .Registrations are now coining to hand much more rapidly and it is anticipated a satisfactory total will bare been peached when registration ceases at the end of the month. The battalion will go into camp to commence training some time during November. The total of 799 includes 48 Maoris who are at present in camp with the special force and who have signified theiir desire to be transferred to th» Maori battalion. That total is made up of 20 men at Ngaruawahia, 15 at Trentham and 13 at Burnham. AUSTRALIAN CAMPS SEYMOUR'S ACTIVITIES NO WET CANTEENS [from our own correspondent] MELBOURNE, Oct. 19 Miniature cities of canvas and timber are springing up like mushrooms on the plains and hillsides of Seymour, 60 miles north of Melbourne, where thousands of troops in the next few months - will train. More than 6000 troops —the first instalment of 20,000 militia soldiers who will undergo intensive training at Seymour this month —entered camp this week. Thousands of men of the Sixth Division, who have volunteered for service at home or abroad, will be encamped at Seymour in addition to the men of the militia. Five separate camps are being organised in the Seymour district. Visitors who expected to find acres of land covered by . tents, stretching in neat lines into the distance, were disappointed. The camps arc well distributed—and well hidden —over hundreds of acres in the Seymour district. In the camp where the Sixth Division, or "special force," will be trained •workmen have been busy for the past 10 days, erecting 320 timber huts, each 60ft. by 16ft., which have to ho completed by November 1 for the accommodation of 11,500 men. The work is being done by five Melbourne firms who are employing 800 men. Special water-pipes are being laid to bring supplies of fresh water from the Goulburn River, five miles away. Timber is pouring into Seymour l.y the train-load, and huge three-ton trucks are continually arriving in the camp with great loads of stores and equipment. All this activity has had no parallel since the previous war. Eventually accommodation will be available for 20,000 men, or the equivalent of the population of a typical provincial city in New Zealand. And as to the canteens, after careful reflection the Federal Ministry has decided that they shall be "dry." NORTHERN ENLISTMENTS 205 NEEDED TO FILL QUOTA [from our own correspondent] WHANGAREI, Friday For the second echelon of the special military force, 339 men are required from the No. 3 (North Auckland) area. Already 134 men have been passed as fit, leaving 205 recruits to be secured within the next fortnight. Judging from the experience gained with the first echelon, this will mean that about !'."O recruits are needed, as it was found that about one-third of the men offering could not pass the medical and dental tests and about 10 per cent followed reserved occupations. There are 70 men who have not yet been before the medical board,