TUBERCULOSIS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5293, 3 June 1904, Page 4

TUBERCULOSIS.

Important as are the conclusions of the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis, whose report has just been published in London, it cannot be said that they can in any way alleviate the condition of the hapless victims of the disease that has been well called the deadliest enemy of the human race. The discovery of the tubercle bacillus has been of no benefit to the consumptive; neither can the identification of bovine with human tuberculosis lead to any relief for those afflicted by -the disease: the only hope lies in the discovery of the natural enemy of the bacillus. Hie value of the results achieved by the Royal Commission is, however, beyond question. So long as there was doubt as to the transmissibility of tuberculosis from bovine animals to man and “ vice versa,” so long were individuals and Governments likely to bo careless about the adoption of preventive measures. Now that it has been proved, after exhaustive inquiry, that bovine and human tuberculosis are practically identical, the duty of the State is clear. The most stringent regulations must bo-jnade for the stamping out of bovine tuberculosis, for stopping the sale of meat from infected animals and for having all milk intended for human consumpt sterilised. In this country we have a fairly effective system of inspection; but it is to be feared that quantities of infected meat and milk still find their way to the market. The report just published should lead to increased vigilance, since it proves that by preventive measures the spread of consumption may be checked. After all, what can be.effected in this way will probably prove of little avail among the populations of the Old World. The chief inducing pauses of consumption are bad air and insufficient food; and to arrest the progress of the devastating malady very radical social reforms are necessary. City slums must be abolished; the pollution of the atmosphere must be stopped; above all, the masses of the people must have better dwellings and sufficient and more wholesome food. A recent inspection of children: attending the public schools m Edinburgh disclosed that 700 of them were suffering from consumption, and a similar or even worse state of things would doubtless be found to prevail in other cities. The industrial system of to-day, with its tendency to aggregate people in towns, is largely responsible for the spread of tubercular troubles. How to check this tendency,, or otherwise how to make city life healthy, >s the pressing problem. Britain is paying a terrible price for her supremacy in manufactures. In IS7O, the town and country populations of England and Wales were nearly equal; in 1901, only 23 per cent, of the people lived in the country, while 77 per cent, dwelt in towns. Against this it may be pointed out that the urban population of Germany is only 36 per cent., and that of France only 25 per cent, of the total inhabitants of these countries. Overcrowded dwellings,, with consequent vitiated air, are largely responsible for the prevalence of consumption in the United Kingdom. It has been found that no fewer than 3,250,000 people in the British Isles „ live in overcrowded houses, or an average of three persons to each apartment. These facts emphasise the necessity for a general betterment of social conditions, if the national physique and health are to be maintained. In the meantime, it may be hoped that theconclusions of the Royal Commission will lead to measures being adopted that will to some extent prevent the propagation of tubercular disease through the medium of infected meat and milk.