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Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 143, 23 July 1914, Page 6

Down in the south-east portion of Christchuroh a nest of scarlet fever has f been unearthed by the Hospital Board. At its meeting yesterday the board discussed .earnestly the root cause of the concentration of infection, and consideration of the causes led to some interesting little sidelights ,011 the milksupply, The Sun has been at considerable pains to draw public attention to critical aspects of the supply of this indispensable article of diet, including the conduct of dairies, the health of "the herds, and the illegal application of water to the milk itself;. The story: narrated yesterday by a member of the board involves in this serious mister the culpability of the consumer. It had been suggested that the milk supply was responsible for the outbreaks of infection, but the milkman who supplied nearly all the houses in which the aggravating epidemic had a hold, has been completely exonerated. It was alleged at the meeting referred to that many of the receptacles put out overnight to receive the morning's supply of milk were in a sorry condition of uncleanness. Some of the defails pictured with regard to these vessels were in truth nauseating and obnoxious, and if the personal observer is not working his imagination overtime, there can be little wonder that constitutional troubles ensue. It is to be feared that there is a large number of people who, from ignorance or sheer laziness, .disregard the. stern necessity 'for keeping their jugs and cans clean. ■ Such neglect uiav easily be fraught with dangerous consequences, and careless householders who, suffering, are inclined to lay the blame on the much-abused 'milkman, would do well to turn the glass on themselves. Milk, of all things, demands a spotiess t.rensil, and it is strange that so many consumers still overlook the fact. Dr Fonwick declared that the fever trouble depended on locality, but this much may be added: That the presence in the body of a multitude of germs "nurtured on tainted milk will go a long wav towards making the constitution eminently susceptible to such attacks.