THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1913. THE WHITE PLAGUE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 5 February 1913, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1913. THE WHITE PLAGUE.

; Tho official report has just been published of the conference convened at the instance of tlie Minister of Pub-lic-Health-,, for the purpose of inquiring into the prevalence of tubercular diseases in the .Dominion,- and particularly with regard to tho measures considered necessary to prevent their spread.- The conference consisted of medical men who have had special experience in the administrative control and treatment of tuberculosis, and the findings are consequently of considerable interest to the general community. Among the recommendations made is one that hospital boards, should adopt an uniform form of inquiry, relating more particularly to the family history of patients, and their ■environments. This is important, as it will enable hospital authorities to apply preventive as well as remedial measures. • The conference has drawn the attention of tho Railway Department to the insanitary condition of the carriages, owing to lack of ventilation and cleanliness. Those who have ha.d occasion to travel in the small, stuffy, dingy compartments which are to be found on the branch lines of the Dominion will thoroughly concur in this direction. Licensing Committees are to be a.sked to insist upon the periodical cleansing of 'hotels, and the Legislature is recommended to amend the Public Health Act, to provide for the inspection of boarding-houses, so that thoy will he required to observe the same' sanitary conditions as hotels. We have no doubt that Parliament'will recognise the necessity for adopting this course.' The necessity for a Town-planning Bill is urged, so that congestion may not arise in tlie centres, and slums may he unknown. Better facilities are also sought for the removal or improvement of insanitary buildings, whilst increased accommodation lor consumptives in special sanatoria, incurable wards, or annexes to our 'hospitals, is sought. Tt is further recommended that every hospital board in the Dominion that has not a special institution or institutions for consumption under its control rshonld provide suitable, sufficient, and comfortable accommodation, by way of hospital annexes or otherwise, for the reception and treatment of consumptives in any stage of the disease, and until such time n.s

the Medical Superintendent is of opinion that such patients can Ik>. treat(h'l with more advantage ah special institutions suitahlo to tho patients' condition. On this point there will naturally be somo controversy. Opinions aro divided as to whether th" treatment of consumptives should not he confined to separate institutions ( provided in suitable localities. Tho | expense entailed in providing aooom- 1 inodation in i'very hospital district wt-uld. it is thought liy many, ho quite out of proportion to the beno(its to he derived. Another recommendation to hoards that will meet with some opposition is that they erect and equip tuberculosis dispensaries for the special treatment el' chest diseases, and that the staff ■should consist of a medical officer and one or mere nurses, according to iiie size of the district; and that tho ! tuberculosis officer should be associated with the dispensary w'here such officer has been appointed ; the equipment of the dispensaries to consist, in addition to the ordinnrv furniture, of a microscope and weighing machine, and means for examining sputum and urine. The conference has suggested that in any regulations that may bo onteufplafced under tho Sale of Foods and Drugs Act it should be laid clown that no person suffering from tuberculosis in any form should be permitted to collect, or assist in the collection, conveyance, or distribution of milk intended for sale for human consumption. This is a very proper precaution to take. But why should milk alone be treated in this way? Should not a person who is known to be suffering from tuberculosis be prohibited from handling any perishable goods intended for human consumption? A very proper recommendation is that all hospital boards make it a condition, prior to tho acceptance of any tender for the supply of milk to their institutions, that the supplying herds be examined and passed as free from 'tuberculosis by officers under tho direction and control of the Chief .Veterinarian.' Wo are surprised to know that this rnlo is not already observed. Wo are of opinion that the herds from which tho whole of the domestic supply of milk was .drawn had to bo passed as„rroe from tuberculosis. Apparently, however, this is riot so. The public will probably want to kn.iv the reason why. The pasteurisation of skim-milk and whey at all dairy factories is recommended; but the conference might have- reasonably gone further and insisted upon a rigid examination of all dairy herds. A valuable suggestion is made in regard to the open-air teaching of school-children; but this will, of course, be impracticable in tho larger centres. Tho conference would have rendered a, public .service had it demanded that every school building should have a proper system of sanitation and ventilation. The concluding recommendation of tho conference is that, in the event of failure, to secure unity of action 0 n the part of hospital boards, tho Government should take over the complete control of the tuberculosis campaign. This would nossibly.be the more economical and effective method of dealing with the dreaded disease. In the meantime, we congratulate the Minister nrd the conference upon the close consideration that has been given to the important subject, and trust that the outcome will bo a determined effort to stamp out the insidious "white man's plague."