SCARLET FEVER.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13730, 21 October 1908, Page 7

SCARLET FEVER.

•SOMK OF ITS I)AX<;i:HS

At the meeting of tlic Hospital Board y<i-tcrday, l)r , resident siugcon. mentioned thai a juven'le patient whu had lieen in hospital litre for several «'ifks and/ had gone home to Waimate iniinedi■alely developed seal let. fever. He had discovered that before (lie boy leu (lie hospital, he was visited by a friend from a house iu which tlieie was .-carle' fever. The result wa! thai the buy. "ho apj>eai ed to be ipiite well when In- left T'tuaru. dcveloped the rash next day. Another developed iu the wind, in a child who had been in for tome t'me. most probably from contact with avi-itor. The otily "way to prevent that sort of tiling was t'« forbid the entrance of visitors; unless tliev did that they could not b_- xure of keep injl out fecailet fever. In another case oue of tlir» visiting doctors found a woman silting beside a patent. idle having tome from a house where he was attending patient- flittering a secondary conipti: • at ion of the fever, which had gone through the whole family. k wa» impossible, Or Belt suggested. to ask for a certificate of health from all vi.-itois; and it was foi the Hoard to say whether all visitors .should be bailed or whether tin;.' should lake the rick of patients bc'ng infected. Infection with scarlet fever might* lie very dangerous ill the case of patients for operation. But tlicle would b- a great out cry if visiting way bailed. Tlieie w.-u----evidently, he added, more scarlet lever in the district than was commonly known. In many cases doctors had n called in Io deal with some late eomplicat"on ami found the whole family had had the fever. Mr I.yall said the fever war, all over lit* district, and the patents were going about <•]>■ ending it. There was a good deal of ignorance about it. People had it in their homes and did not know it. Mr t iilliiigham suggested that uieic would not be much danger in pat < ni t , «eeing their friends out of doors, and Dr licit si aid that offend a good coiiipioinisr. The chairman i.-commended having a decision 'ill next tile* ting, the resident stngeon and the vi-i;ing otaff to confer in the meantime and make a i ecoiiiimnda t i oil.

Mr Cra gie thought the publication of tlw remarks that hail b-eti made would have a good eff-ct. in making people mole cautious in making visits when they carried u danger of infection. Mr Kianc-i, .-aid they hail aluio-t stamped out scarlet fi-ver ill W'aimate; '.hen there w«n a big bazaar, and the whole place Was swamped with it again. The chaiiuian's suggest on was adopted, and the matter <liop{>ed. '