HEALTH NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3885, 28 August 1928, Page 69

HEALTH NOTES.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE. PREVENTIVE MEASURES. Contributed by the Department of Health. Human beings contract infectious diseases directly or indirectly from other human beings, of from animals, as, for instance, in the case of hydatids. From a ® aa jf a Ty point of view, therefore, everv individual in a community represents a potential source of infection to others. Were we confronted, states an authority, only by the necessity of guarding against infections originating in recognised cases, the problem would resolve itself simply into one of prompt diagnosis and isolation. As it is, however, transmission by clinically recognisable cases is growing less and less important as methods of diagnosis and public health supervision grow in efficiency, and in an increasing proportion of instances the ultimate origin of such disease must be sought in the mild unrecognised case and the “ carrier.” CARRIERS. Concerning “ carriers,” it is now a fact well known to all medical men that in typhoid and the paratyphoid fevers, cholera, dysentery, meningitis, diphtheria, pneumonia, and probably in poliomyelitis, scarlet fever, and a number of other diseases, there is constantly present in all communities a definite percentage of individuals who are themselves for the time being immune, but who harbour and constantly distribute dangerous bacteria. Protection against these “ carriers ” is only possible by so organising community life that the routine contact of individuals with infectious materials may be reduced to the smallest possible extent, and by so influencing the habits, nutrition, occupation, etc., of the community that the average resistance of the population may be maintained at the highest possible level, adding to this widespread and special methods of protection against disease.

Such a programme involves, in addition to the more technical sanitary organisation, a wider popular knowledge on health matters. Widespread poverty inevitably carries in its train, to some degree, uncleanliness, crowding, and under-nutrition. Inadequate regulation of the conditions under which men and women work and amuse themselves will lead to reduced group resistance, and will open innumerable avenues of transmission. Lack of education in the simple hygiene of everyday life leads, above all else, to carelessness of the rights of others in regard to infection. DUTY OF CITIZENS.

It is the duty of al] to minimise risk to others. If you are suffering from an infectious disease, however, mild in character, take all possible precautions to prevent its spread Honourable citizens who would hesitate to try a new rifle in a crowded thoroughfare have no compunction about coughing and sneezing in each others’ faces, or sending their children to school with whooping cough or heavy coulds. Attention to such simple matters of personal hygiene, keeping the mouth and teeth in a healthy condition, washing the hands when soiled especially preparatory to handling food, etc., is not only a duty to oneself, but an obligation to one’s associates. RULES TO FOLLOW.

With the publicity given throughout these articles as to the means of preventing the spread of infectious diseases by early medical treatment, strict isolation of patients, and careful nursing, there is little excuse for the undeniable ignorance that so often exists about the simplest rules of infection. To recapitulate:—An infectious disease manifests itself usually by a feeling of illness accompanied by a rise in the body’s tem*perature. Should these symptoms occur, the patient should go to bed, keep warm, and seek medical treatment. As the early stages of an attack are most infective, but infection may persist throughout the illness, the isolation of the patient should be strictly maintained. Relapses and complications are much less likely to occur if the patient goes to bed at once and remains there until all* fever has gone, or as his medical adviser directs; much harm can be done by getting about too early ,and there is extreme danger of spreading infection to other members of the household. The patient should be kept in a room apart from the rest of the family. • All dishes, handkerchiefs, towels, and washable bedding used by th e patient should be boiled before washing. Catch discharges from the nose and throat of the patient upon pieces of cloth which can be burned or boiled. The risk of conveyance of infection by the fingers must be constantly remembered, and the hands should be washed at once after contact with the patient or with the mucus from he nose or throat. The liability of immediate' attendants to infection may be materially diminished by avoiding inhalation of the patient's breath and particularly when he is coughing, sneezing, or talking

During the prevalence of an infectious disease in the community,- those who are able to do so will diminish their chances of contracting the disease by keeping away from all places of public resort and all crowded conveyances.