INFANTILE PARALYSIS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19313, 1 May 1937, Page 4

INFANTILE PARALYSIS

COOK HO SPIT AJ. CASE FORTNIGHT IN WARD CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT Public concern regarding the discovery of a positive case of infantile paralysis in the children’s ward of the Cook Hospital has been reflected in a number of inquiries received by the Herald as to the precautions which are taken at the institution against the transference of infection from one ward to another, and as to the possibilities of the case having been induced by what is known as crossinfection.

The matter was taken up to-day wdth the chairman of the Cook Hospital Board, Mr. M. T. Trafford, who stated that he had not discussed the matter with the medical superintendent, Dr. R. J. B. Hall, owing to the manjr urgent claims upon the superintendent’s time. He understood, however, that the case had been in hospital a fortnight before paralysis developed, and that it was not at all impossible that the. child, a boy of nine years, had been suffering from the disease when admitted to the institution. The chairman .was not prepared to consider the possibility of the disease having been transmitted'to a.patient -in the general w'ards by contact with a nurse from isolation!The ,hospital had a definite system of.(safeguards-against such an occurrence, and naturally that system would be operating! under present conditions.

“We cannot keep the nurses as prisoners,” he commented when ashed whether nurses attending eases in isolation were allowed to visit relatives and mingle with ether. members of the stall at the hospital. While it was necessary to give the nurses some freedom, however, the very nature of their employment would ensure their own recognition of the dangers of transmission, and he had no doubt that they took every precaution.

The public could rest assured, Mr. Trafford continued, that no precaution would be neglected by the board and its staff. Visitors to tne children’s ward had been barred for weeks, and if any had been admitted, it could only have been in exceptional circumstances, or ir defiance of tne regulations.

NO COMMENT OFFERED dr. turbott reticent Pointing out that the matter was one for tlfe Cook Hospital Board and its administrative officers. Dr. H. B. Turbott; supervising medical officer of the East Cape health district, declined today to comment on the development of the case of infantile paralysis in the children’s ward of the hospital.. On the general situation in the health district, he stated that everything possible was being done to prevent the spread of the disease, but that it was difficult to gauge the efficiency of individual measures, since the methods of transmission had not been finally and definitely established. It was generally recognised that the disease gained access to the sufferer through the nose, and that the congregation of people at a time of epidemic was extremely dangerous. That the virus was transmitted by contact was also accepted, but there was no test available by which carriers of the disease could be identified. The only certain indication that the virus was present in any case was the development of paralysis. For this reason, though it might be assumed that a given individual had acted unconsciously as a carrier, medical men had no means o£ certifying that such was-the case, and it was useless to try to identify a source of infection applying to a given case of inlnntile paralysis. Dr. Turbott counselled the strictest application of the precautions against public assembly during the epidemic. as the most valuable means of checking the spread of the disease.

No fresh cases of infantile paralysis were reported to the Gisborne office of the Health Department overnight, or during] the morning, the total to dat* still standing at 30.

OAMARU RECRUDESCENCE \ THREE FURTHER, CASES (Per Press Association.) OAMARU, this day. Three further positive cases of infantile paralysis, the first for over a week, were admitted to hospital yesterday. Two are brothers from the town, aged nine and 10 years, both showing muscular weakness, and the third is a girl aged five from Horton’s.

FIVE CASES YESTERDAY HAMILTON HOSPITAL • (Per Press Association.) HAMILTON, this day. Five cases of infantile paralysis were admitted to jiospital yesterday, two cases being positive. The first Hamilton victim, a girl of 11 years, is a positive case.