THE MEDICAL PROFESSION

Taranaki Daily News, 10 March 1932, Page 3

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION

INTERCHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE. SUGGESTION FOR s RESEARCH. The following letter, sent by the Gov-ernor-General, Lord Bledisloe, to Mr. Casement Aickin, president of the New Zealand branch of' the British Medical Association, was read by Mr. Aickin at the opening of the association’s conference at Auckland on Monday:— “Will you please convey to those attending the annual conference of the New branch of the British Medical Association my very real regret that I am unable, owing to the emergency session of Parliament, to be present in Auckland to open the conference. Had I done so, I should have taken the opportunity of testifying to the high standard of efficiency of the'medical profession in this Dominion, the unselfish and unflagging zeal with which they pursue their noble calling, and the wellmerited prestige which they enjoy among all plasses of the community. “I trust that by the interchange of knowledge and experience therapeutic practice may be enriched, and thereby public benefit accrue, from the conference. Medical knowledge based upon and illumined by modern research is making rapid strides throughout the world and so progressive a country as New Zealand cannot afford to lag behind; and, I am confident, has no intention of doing so. “Having been for many years a student of veterinary science and a keen observer of animal diseases in different environments, it has occurred to me that there may be scope for further research, with definite benefit to the health of the Dominion, concerning the possible interrelation of some of the morbid conditions peculiar to or specially prevalent in this country affecting human beings on the one hand and farm animals on I the other, but not hitherto recognised as having a- common aetiology. “I refer especially to what are known as food deficiency diseases, traceable to lack of iron, calcium, iodine, phosphates, vitamins or other essential food factors. Had I been present at your conference I should have ventured, albeit a layman, to suggest this as a topic worthy among others of serious consideration on the part of our medical profession and of those who conduct so efficiently medical research at Otago University and elsewhere. You have my best wishes for the success of the conference.”