HEALTH OF THE TROOPS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9736, 11 August 1917, Page 8

HEALTH OF THE TROOPS

AN IMPORTANT REPORT VENEREA L DISEASES AND MENINGITIS. lOt DEATHS DURING THE YEAR. An interesting and important report laid on tho table of the House of Representatives bv tho Defence Minister was from the Director-General of Medical Services showing the state of health ol •vew Zealand Expeditionary Forces while in camps in Now Zealand for Uie yea*' 1316. xno tonal number of officer* and min wno have been m training camps during lim, amouutea to iti.jjv. 'lnu u'c.-b o strong uu was 11,n2. !no um«U ms missions to nospnai were 12,948, giving an .amission rule per IVOO ol ih--8, aud a constantly sick rate ol 10.51). Macro were Vi doauis Horn disease, ox wmou aa wuiv in camp luwpiUus aud seven in oivu uOrtpiitaJS. elsewhere or at sea, giving a dOiiiih rate of i.lo per lutfi on tue average strength, in addition mere were nine dearns from aco.deur.s, of which seven occurred out of comp and three suicides, giving a total number of deatUs from all causes of Id. Mills amounted to a death rate of 3.4 per 1003 on the total numbers and 8.9 on the average • strength. Mite prcv.-u.mg diseases were .influenza and measles. The diseases which caused tho chief mortality were pneumonia —s 9 denims —-anil ccreoro spinal Mover— 36 deaths. Tho details of deaths in tho four camps were as follow Featherston—Frem disease, 37; accident, 1; suicide, 3. Trentham— From disease, 45; accident, 1; suicide 1. Narrow Neck—'Disease, L. Awapum—Nil. "That there was undoubtedly a large number of admissions in ail the camps as compared with tho Imperial Amy _tn peace time," states the x-eport, ’ s largely due to the fact that as a precautionary "measure luedtoa, o.acers «>• nil tied' most of the men reporting sick, trivial cases oven which in civil life or in the Imperial Annv would not nave been admitted to hospital; The average number constantly sick is much the same as that of the Imperial Army th Bngmnd in time of peace, which is 20. VENEREAL DISEASES. “There were 356 cases admitted for gonorrhoea. nine for syphilis and seven xox soft chancre. This showed an admission rate of 8.77 per thousand on the numbers of men who passed, through comp and of 31.6 per thousand on the average strength, or about half the amount that occurs in the Imperial Army in peace time. The admissions for the various camps Were! - Soft Gonorrhoea. Syphilis,. Chancre. Txantham - 227 6 3 Featherston 38 3 4 Narrow Neck ... 38 Awapurii 3 The ratio per cent, on the average strength of the camps is:—Narrow Neck B.V, Trontham. 4.9, Featherston 1.6, Awapuni 1.5. “The admissions for venereal disease show that the proximity of a large town affects the number of cases in New /eahm'd just as it does elsewhere. Thus in England prior to the war, the London district showed an admission rate of 15 •per eeht., whilst the average admission rate for the United Kingdom was between 6 and 7 per cent.” THE DEADLY “FLU.” “The chief cause of sickness in the camps and accounting for 5537 admit, sions was influenza. This is a disease which appears periodically in epidemic form, and was reported to be very prevalent in WeUingtoti city last year. As regards the camps at Trentham it accounted for 3138 admissions out of a total of 3241, at Featherston for 2234 of 319 and at Awapuni for 31 out ot 211. / “The disegso wa« prevalent all the year at Trentham,, but chiefly in January and February, Juno and July, when R .attained its maximum, becoming less In August and September and increasing in October and November and almost disappearing in December. In Feathersbon it persisted from June until the end of the year and in. Narrow Neck the largest number ot eases were m June and July. , , “The proximity to Wellington and the large facilities for leave granted from camps, the crowded picture shows, theatres, and trains, and the tendency to ’gather together in buildings in the cold months in June, July, and August, were the chief factors in the spread of this disease, reinforcements bringing it into camp with them. Tha _ fatigue of training in unwonted exercises made the fresh recruits more susceptible, the disease being especially prevalent among the new arrivals. Free ventilation, fresh air, and segregation are the chief factors to be observed in preventing its spread, hence the establishment of tha camp at Tauhereuikau, wuere new recruits are kept for a month.’ MEASLES. “The next most prevalent disease was measles, which is very prevalent in the towns of New Zealand, and is brought Into camp by recruits and men on leave. At Trentham there were 572 cases, the largest number being in July 100, and September 141. There were no admissions in February or March.-In Featherston there were_ 1548 admissions, the largest number being in August, beptember, and October. Tho reason for this large number in Featherston ■ appeared to bo that recruits usually left Trentham for Featherston in the third or fourth, week of training, just at tho time the three weeks( incubation period of the disease was being completed and developed it there. Rigorous inspections for measles are conducted twice or thrice a week in camp of all troops. In Narrow Neck there were fifteen cases and in Awapuni twenty.” CEREBRCLSPINAL MENINGITIS. There were 51 cerebro-spinal meningitis cases at Trentham and Featherston, and they gave rise to a mortality of 36. The Assistant Director of Medical Services has written a special note on the disease as it affected the camps. “The chief point to notice, states the report, “was that the organism which causes the disease has very little capacity for resistance outside the body, tending to die rapidly when dried or even when cooled down for three or four hours in naso-phargvngeal secretion or cerebro-spinal fluid. This lack of definite resistance of the organism means that it can be transferred only I bv contact with the fresh secretions of patients or carriers. It is usually free- ) ly ejected by coughing or sneezing and i not by ordinary breathing, and it can be carried in the throats of people who are perfectly healthy. Consequently it is not convoyed by clothes in hutments or food or drink, but by inhaling the breath, or cough of a carrier. It is most prevalent in cold or damp weather when colds or coughs are rife. To combat the disease the carriers have to be detected and it is the custom at Trentham and Featherston, as far as possible, to swab all new recruits on arrival and all reinforcements before embarking for England. These swabs are examined microscopically and hacteriologicallv, and all carriers are isolated and treated in inhalation chambers twice a day with sprays of sulphate of zinc or chloramine T. until their

throats are clear. . Since this system has been established we have had no cases of cerebro-spinal fever on our transports, and the value of the spraying chambers which have been fixed on all our transports, similar to those in our camps, has again and again been testified to by medical officers proceeding with troops owing to their efficiency in controlling influenza, sore throat, mumps, and measles.” PNEUMONIA. AND SCARLET FEVER. Of 91 cases thorn were 39 deaths. At Treutnum there were 61 cases with 21 deaths. The P.M.O. states that of 48 casts which followed on measles, 16 were complicated by meningitis. At Featherston there were 19 cases with 17 deaths. These wero all oases of measles which developed pneumonia. At Narrow Neck there were eight cases with one death and at Awapuu: none. There were 15 scarlet lever cases: Trentham 4, Featherston. 4, Narrow Neck 7. mud Awapuni none. There were no deaths. Diphtheria six cases: Trentham 3 and I death, and Featherston 3 cases, all of whioh recovered. There were 91 admissions for alcoholism : Trentham 39 and Featherston 53. Nervous system oases numbered 129 of whioh 41 cases wore epilepsy with fine death. One death, also occurred from convulsions. There were 19 mental casc«, of which tho largest number were cases of delusional insanity. There was only one case of alcoholic insanity. Some of those cases had previously been (n asylums, but had eluded th© recruiting medical officers. Of the 65 admissions for diseases of tho heart and circulatory system there wero five deaths. Trouble with the digestive system caused 9G6 admissions: Featherston 654, Trentham 193, Narrow Neck 19, and Awapuni 17. The largo number of adr missions at Featherston was duo largely to ([astro-enteritis, which occurred chiefly in February and March, end accounted for 334 cases. These cases occurred chiefly after the camp was occupied and Knv© been ascribed to the presence of largo numbers of flies and the dirty conditions of parte on the _ outskirts of the camp occupied, by civilian workmen engaged in building tho camp. “Thanks to the skill and devoted la. hours of Professor Kirk,” states th* report, "the fly problem was speedily and effectively dealt with, careful sam tary supervision and cleaning up wa* carried out by Major Gunn, theP.M.O., and his officers, and tho epidemic was mild in character and cleaned up.” There were 69 admissions for appendicitis with two deaths. ■ SUICIDES. There was one suicide at Trentham by hanging, two at Featherston by cutting throat®. All were temporarily in. Bane. (Sir James Allen stated yes tor day that there were eleven suicides since tho opening of the .camps.) j IN CONCLUSION. In general comment the report states. “It is satisfactory to notice how very little the troops suffered from diseases such as enteric, dysentery, diarrhoea, and other complaints such as are con veyed by impure water by contaminated milk and food and by dirt.- This is satisfactory testimony to the efficient drainage and water supply as well as to the high standard of the quality of tho rations. . . . The chief ailments from which the men have suffered have been inhaled into their throats , aud lungs. In this way influenza, measles and cejebro-spinal meningitis have arisen and spread.” In giving suggestions to prevent the spread of 'disease the report advises the keeping of Eiie men away as much as possible from towns in winter. The fault of Trentham was that it is to© near Wellington. The isolation of the sick, prevention of overcrowding id buildings, n nd the prompt segregation of all contacts in infected cases are advised .