FIGHTING THE WHITE PLAGUE

Wanganui Chronicle, 31 October 1946, Page 4

FIGHTING THE WHITE PLAGUE

'"pilE fight which is being waged by the medical profession against the spread of tuberculosis merits being given assistance by the general public. Tuberculosis takes a heavy toll of the people of this country, and as the housing shortage continues it can be expected to extend its range of victims. The addition of small houses to the Dominion’s economy will be another factor assisting the spread of diseases. Tuberculosis is a social disease; it results from conditions favourable to contagion being all too prevalent. These conditions must be eliminated if the work in which the medical profession is engaged is to have any chance of success. Sanatoria and surgical operations are but means to patch up the wrecks: prevention should be the major aim. Yet it is safe to assert that there are very few people who know much about the incidence of tuberculosis. Its contagious character, however, is such that Dr. Williams, of Pori Moresby. New Guinea, declared when last in New Zealand that he would sooner have a leper than a T.B. patient in his kitchen. The time has arrived to meet the challenge that the white plague presents to this country. This can best be done by the promotion of a lay Tuberculosis Association.