A SUSPICIOUS ILLNESS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13394, 18 September 1907, Page 3

A SUSPICIOUS ILLNESS.

_ Dr Finch, District Health Officer for Canterbury, was summoned from Christ(•iiiirch on Monday by an urgent telegram. • to txamins a young man who had be;n taken i"J, and whose symptoms, or soeiu of them, gave rise to suspicions that he had contracted a disease the occurence of which would have involved a large amount of -ffxpcDKa and inconvenience to the- town — plagus in short. It is i-i-eless to maku any mystery of it, us tho case was u common subject of inquiry, about the street, as " tho case of plague." 'J.he preliminary eyinptums of this distiise are soinrwhat difficult to distinguish from thciia of some other human complaints, and doubtless it was betU-r to be 0:1 the talc tide, by taking all possible precautions. Fortunately ijie unfavourable symptoms gradually dfea]>]icar-.<l yesterday, ami iJr Finch was convinced that, there was nothing in th<; case to occasion public ahum. Th<« patient is a youth employed in the rough ironware .'.hop l fencing wire, netting, ,;c.i, of tlu- C.F.C.A. stores, Cains T-r----rac. He he-jamo ill about a week ago, from inrtiu-:i'/.:i it was > uppo-ed at riisL. u:v\ his condition varisd much from day, to day. So.iKtimes it wan thought that 1:- might have strained himself by lifting a he:i\ r y c:i.-:j. The symptoms on Monday wuv such that his medical advi'?:r. ]Jr Ui:win. called inDv Drew in consultation, an>? as the result of a consensus of opinion, Dr Finch wa- .s.-nt for. Fortunately tlie cas • proved lo be of le;s seriot.* nature ih-tn w;i; su-qKcted. It may hz- mentioned in this connection thti. V.he:: tlu.- "scare" occurred a few

years ago, the Hospital Bcarrl made some preparations for dealing- vnth any eree that might appear, by having some large t?nts made, and u site levelled: and tarred in the: park triangle near the hospital, and these preparations are. jitill available. A crusade aeuinst rats was also entered upon. and°lh-2 Boinugh Council has since continued to pay lor all dead rats delivered for cremation at the gas works.