19

H.—3l

In districts where it is possible for nurses to concentrate their attention on a small group of schools the' proportion of defects treated has greatly increased, in many cases being over 90 per cent., and in a few individual schools 100 per cent. The percentage of treatment obtained necessarily declines as facilities for obtaining it become very inaccessible. The following return for one district gives some indication, however, of the extent to which treatment is obtained for defects notified : —

I do not propose here to deal with aspects of the work which have been discussed in detail in previous reports, and shall confine my observations to a few points of special interest relating to the work of the year. Health Camps.—The yearly health camp for under-nourished children, Wanganui district, was held for five weeks at Turakina, 115 children attending. Pupils of the special classes for mentally backward in Wellington (forty-nine in number) attended a health camp at the Central Development Farm, Levin, of eighteen days' duration. Marked benefit to the children concerned was again noted this year. Nutrition Glasses. —The nutrition class at the Normal School, Auckland, is being continued under the excellent management of Miss Earle. In Wanganui Dr. Gunn is including an extra daily ration of milk in the programme of a nutrition class, and observing the result. In Dunedin, the Sarah Ann Cohen Memorial School, largely owing to the generosity of the Hon. Mark Cohen, has been established. It is built on the Fendalton open-air plan. The pupils are selected from city schools because of malnutrition or tendency to tuberculosis. The daily regime has been carefully planned, but it is too soon as yet to estimate results. Examination of Pre-school Children. —There has been considerable extension of the examination of pre-school children. Dr. Gunn in Wanganui now sets apart two days monthly for this purpose, and it is gratifying to note that mothers are eager to avail themselves of the opportunity thus offered. Dr. Elaine Gurr in Wellington made a comprehensive survey of kindergarten children. The value of medical examination for children between ages of two and five years is so great that it is purposed to make it as widely available as our limitation of staff permits. Immunization against Diphtheria.—Preventive inoculation against diphtheria has now been carried out for some thousands of children. Dr. Collier deserves special credit for her work in this direction, as approximately 2,750 children received protective treatment for diphtheria in Southland during the year. Special Investigation.—The following special investigations were carried out : (1) Inquiry into condition of rural-school children by Drs. Henderson, Wilkie, Stevenson, and Wilson in Auckland, and by Dr. Gunn in Taranaki. Much valuable material has been collected which is at present in process of condensation. (2) Inquiry into incidence of tuberculosis among New Zealand schoolchildren by Dr. Mary Champtaloup in Wellington and Dr. Baker-McLaglan in Christchurch. A copy of Dr. Champtaloup's paper on this subject to the Australasian Medical Congress last February follows. (3) An account of the work of the school medical service in relation to goitre was given by Dr. Baker-McLaglan at the same Congress. (4) A paper, " Physical Growth and Mental Attainment of New Zealand School-children," the result of a joint investigation of the Education and Health Departments, was also presented. The School Hygiene Division wishes to express appreciation to the Education Department, various Education Boards, School Committees, and teachers for much valuable co-operation. Ada G. Paterson, Director, Division of School Hygiene. INCIDENCE OF TUBERCULOSIS AMONG NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL-CHILDREN, 1926. (Paper read at Australasian Medical Congress, 1927, by Dr. Champtaloup.) Introduction. An investigation into the incidence of tuberculosis amongst school-children was carried out during 1926 on 1,268 children in the Wellington and Canterbury Districts, New Zealand. The object of the nvestigation has been (1) To find the amount of tuberculosis occurring; (2) to learn what association exists between subnormal nutrition and latent tuberculosis ; (3) to select groups of children requiring special provision ; (4) to estimate the treatment necessary, either prophylactic or curative. A comparison has been made with similar findings in other countries and with New Zealand postmortem statistics. By means of reference to other authorities and careful individual examinations it is hoped that some degree of accuracy has been obtained in the estimate. While the number examined is rather small to allow dogmatic statements, the findings have yet been sufficiently uniform to make certain indications which are of value in-estimating the provision necessary for certain groups of children. As is to be expected, the incidence has been shown to be considerably lower than in older countries ; but there still remains important work to be done in this connection.

. Defects notified ' m . , r> j Area. and followed up. rreated - Percentage. Large towns .. .. .. .. 3,742 3,338 89-2 Small country towns.. .. .. .. 1,353 967 71-4 Scattered districts .. .. .. .. 678 426 62-8 SECTION 2.—MISCELLANEOUS.