SAFEGUARDING HEALTH

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1935, Page 16 (Supplement)

SAFEGUARDING HEALTH

“BUG DETECTIVE” WORK DUTIES OF SANITARY INSPECTOR. MAINLY ON PREVENTIVE SIDE. NEED FOR PERSONAL HYGIENE. The condition of a nation’s sanitation was probably an indication of that nation’s health, said Mr. F. Swindells, inspector of health, at a meeting of the Sub-branch of the Royal Sanitary Institute at New Plymouth yesterday. Outlining the duties of an inspector, he pointed out they were mainly on the preventive side, but they also included work after the onset of disease, when the inspector was often spoken of as a “bug detective.” Moses had often been referred to as the first inspector, for it was on record that he counselled the children of Israel to observe certain laws for their own protection, as well as for the protection of others, he said. There was much evidence that in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, the goddess of health was worshipped, much labour was expended in providing adequate water supplies for domestic use, bathing was popular in elaborate baths, both public and private, an’d sewers were constructed to carry away waste waters. During the middle ages there was a great setback, with the, result that both England and the Continent were swept by plagues. “The inspector is often asked why it is that the child brought up in a good environment contracts infectious disease so readily,’ -while the neglected child seems to escape lightly by comparison,” said Mr. Swindells. “An explanation of this is that the child brought up under good conditions is more susceptible, chiefly owing to non-contact; thus it does not gain the self-immunity that the neglected child has acquired in his inferior environment. It " must be remembeied, moreover, that it is only the strongest of the -latter who survive, nature taking its toll of the weaklings.” PREVENTION THE AIM. ’ Prevention, firstly by improving.the environment, and secondly by giving immunity, was the aim of all sanitarians. The environment depended on many features. the first, of which was the home, including housing and the land on which houses were placed. On the character of the soil much would depend regarding the resistance of the body to withstand disease; for instance clay soils were cold and retained much moisture, hence ’a house erected on such soils would always have a tendency to be damp unless placed at a sufficient height above, the surface and provided with sufficient ventilation under the lower floors. DrainAge of the site would reduce the level of the surface water. The house should be of sound construction, the orientation being carefully considered so that the living rooms were on the sunny side. There should be sufficient windows of such a size as to allow an opening of not less than one-tenth of the floor space and they should be fixed at such a height as to give an angle-of illumination of not less than 45 degrees so that all comers of the room might be illuminated. The house should be planned so that the sanitary fitments were suitably placed and the plumbing Work should be of first-class materials and construction. In rural districts' the disposal of waste waters, could be. satisfactorily performed by mean? of septic tanks, but in urban areas, where the population was more dense, this process was not possible for long. The area of land available soon became saturated and sewage sick, finally refusing to function. WHOLESOME WATER ESSENTIAL. It was essential that each home should be provided with a wholesome supply of water for domestic purposes. In Taranaki, well water in general had been found to be more or less polluted, much animal pollution being washed from 'the land into the streams. In many instances domestic drainage was discharged direct into the stream. The supplies provided by municipalities were often subjected to the same influences. Since much disease was water-borne, the necessity for extreme vigilance in this connection was apparent. Width of roads might not seem to have much bearing bn the health of the people, but where roads were narrow and tall buildings were elected the sun would be shut out from the lower rooms on each side of the road. The width of the road should be such that the angle of illumination should not be less than 45 degrees from the top- of the highest building to the lower portion of the building on the opposite side of the road. Open spaces should be provided in all areas, so that children could got away from playing on dust-laden streets and, in many instances, polluted yard areas. Open spaces were the lungs of a district. Care had to be taken that all refuse produced in the home, of a vegetable or organic nature, was burned, or if this were not possible, placed in a container and covered with a lid. Children should be instructed from infancy in matters of personal hygiene. They should be encouraged to sleep alone, have their own face cloths, towels, tooth brushes, knives, forks, spoons, cups and saucers. ’ RISKS WITH FOOD. While the producer and seller of most foods came under control, in many instances the consumer took risks with the food after purchase, especially with milk, pointed out Mr. Swindells. A survey of bacteriological tests of milk supplied to Dunedin citizens revealed staggering evidence, of unclean milk. Although many of the samples were proved to be of an exceptionally high standard, an unduly large proportion contained contamination, It was for the purpose of ensuring an adequate and good supply -to the city that the City Council, six months ago, introduced a by-law,' that, when it was fully operative, would guarantee purchasers that the milk was both pure and rich. Accredited suppliers’ certificates were to be issued only to those producers and suppliers whose milk was proved to be of the’required standard after bacteriological tests.

Of 327'samples .taken and subfnitted to bacteriological test, the comparatively small number of 143 complied with the standard prescribed by the by-law for the certificate. In 129 samples the bacteria present in the milk exceeded 200,000 per cubic centimetre -and in 1-37 samples coliform organisms—the main cause of bad milk—were present in one-hundredth of a cubic centimetre or less.- In One instance at New Plymouth the bacteriological test disclosed 3,000,000 per cubic centimetre, followed by a reduction to 1,000,000 in a subsequent test. If the young and growing child were to be given an opportunity to develop a healthy body that might resist disease, it was only right that milk of a reasonable standard of purity should be supplied and not something that was a menace to the life of the recipient. Ice cream, meat, shellfish and vegetables might at times be responsible for sickness through contamination. . . “The beginning of school.life is usually, an .anxious time for many parents and often by the 'Expression/ My

children never had anything wrong until they went to school, and then they had everything that was going’,” continued Mr. Swindells. “This again refers to susceptibility, and those who have not gained self-immunity become the victims. The training of children at school, as in the home, should be to develop good habits of personal hygiene. The ‘aids' used in teaching should be regarded as belonging to the individual, not to : be used as common property. Common towels, cups, pencils, etc. should never be allowed.

“It is many years since the theory came to be accepted that germs were the cause of infections, and that an insanitary condition; as such, had no effect whatsoever, being only a predisposing factor. Yet the idea still’ persists that the latter is the main cause. One of the troubles of the inspector is the ‘carrier’ problem. Much ingenuity needs to be exercised to run the ‘carrier’ down, but the trouble often is what to do with him when found. During the diptheria epidemic at New Plymouth in 1925 no less than 90 carriers’ were found in one of the schools, giving a percentage of 11-2 per cent, of all the pupils in the school, while at another school at a later date-when there were no actual cases of disease in the district —3O 'carriers’ were found among 200 chil-: dren, equal to 15 per cent. SEGREGATION A FIRST STEP. “The first step taken in the control of infection is the segregation of the Sick from those who are well, necessitating either the removal of the sick persons to hospital, or nursing in the house. In my experience the former is the more satisfactory method because more care can be given to the actual sufferer than is usual in the home, the danger of a second case occurring is greatly reduced, excep. as the result of contact prior to diagnosis, and the limitatipn on the movements of the rest of the family are reduced to a minimum. “If the circumstances warrant, steps are taken to find the source of infection, for instance, in the case of diptheria contacts may be swabbed,- but it is sometones rather difficult adequately deal With those who come under suspicion. Typhoid fever is often difficult to trace to its source and it is usually a matter for extreme gratification when the inspector is able to establish the cause. In ,one instance /the ‘carrier’ was found after a quiescent period of about nine years. ■ “It is the general practice in New Zealand for the inspector to Carry out disinfection, in the home after a case of . infectious disease, but for the past eight years in Taranaki the -practice adopted in other countries has been followed, disinfection having almost entirely disappeared with. entirely satisfactory results. In no instance has it been found to have had any untoward results. Greater reliance is paid to-day on the adequate care of articles 'that have been in actual contact with the patient, such as crockery and bedding, and the thorough cleansing of the 1 room following the removal of the patient to hospital or - recovery. ' ' ‘ “Soap afid water, sun and air, are a greater help than many of the things the inspector may do. From the standpoint of an inspector disinfection as usually carried out is not required. “The inspector is only part of an organisation for the control of infectious diseases. . In reality his are the ‘eyes that see’ for that portion of the medical profession concerned with the safeguarding of the public health; but if the duties he has to perform are faithfully carried out, he has the satisfaction of knowing 'that the incidence of infectious disease is considerably decreased as the result of his activities and labours.”