THE SMALLPOX SCARE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144145, 15 July 1913, Page 2

THE SMALLPOX SCARE.

AA'hilo the health authorities are no doubt quite right in taking every possible precaution to prevent tho spread of tho disease which has broken out, chiefly among the Maoris, there is no apparent cause for what may be called a smallpox scare. It seopis to be agreed, rightly or wrongly, that tho disease was brought to New Zealand from Sydney, whore tho first case was located three months ago. Authorities in Now South Wales differ as to its real identity. Tho Director-General of Public Health, Dr. Paton, describes it as a very mild form of smallpox, and one which is of very low iufectivity. Ho says it is very similar to a variety of smallpox well known in North America, which is not. considered as dangerous. As against this, however, it may bo pointed out that, smallpox is usually regarded as one of tho i.ipst deadly of diseases, tho percentage of deaths being as high as 70. That is to say, seventy cases out of every hundred end fatally. That is among unvaccinated people, and wo are told that there is no such thing as a mild form of smallpox from chickonthough vaccinated people may contract it in a mild form. It is worthy of note that tho Now South'AVales medical staff state that almost all of tho cases they hnvo visited proved to bo chicken-pox. Dr. Paton also admits that it is very difficult to distinguish what ho calls tho mild form of smallpox from checkonpox, so that tho chances seem to bo in favour of there being no smallpox at all, but that all tho cases aro chickenpox, some being more virulent than others. In New Zealand it is not clear that a single case of even mild smallpox has yet been discovered. Everything points to tho epidemic being chicken-pox, in some cases of a virulent typo. Nevertheless tho authorities aro justified in taking every reasonable precaution, and it is the duty of the public to assist them in preventing the further spread of tho complaint by obeying their roasonsablo instructions and advice. Possibly they are inclined to take an alarmist view, but bettor so than that oven chicken-pox should be allowed to run riot through tho country. Wo have a Health Department, and, having it, tho people should bo guided by it, until its incompetence is fully established, and that would bo a difficult thing to establish by negative evidence. If the department neglected to take precautions and a serious epidemic of smallpox or plague broke out, wo should know what to do at once. But because a warning and precautions seem to prove unnecessary, that is not a sufficient reason to discredit tho authorities, whoso duty it is to err, if they err at all, on tho side of caution. Under' the circumstances, while there is apparently no cause for alarm or a scare, it is tho duty of all to assist tho authorities, especially by promptly reporting symptoms of the complaint, -whatever it is, that has already obtained a footing. At the same time it is desirable that it shall not go abroad unnecessarily that Now Zealand is suffering from a smallpox epidemic, for that would work incalculable harm. AVhat may safely ho made known is that tho authorities and tho public are fully alive to the necessity of keeping so terrible a scourge as smallpox out of tho Dominion and are taking all those precautions which should be adopted if a visitation actually threatened.