The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1914. THE BATTLE AGAINST DISEASE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2168, 5 June 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1914. THE BATTLE AGAINST DISEASE

Notwithstanding the. great advances made by medical science during the . past_ hundred years or so thei'c is still much waste of human life, even in the most civilised countries. -The efforts which are at present being made by the State, the municipalities, the medical profession, and voluntary organisations of various kinds are, ho:werer, steadily bringing clown the death-rate!, Tin's war against'cliscasij in He many forms is now being Waged oil more scientific lines, and special attention is at present being de-voted to the difficult task of bringing the results of medical research to bear more directly and effectively upon the. actual life of the. people, An ordinary community of human beings, matte ap of all sorts and conditions of men and women, cannot in actual - practice be treated like & class of schoolboys or a regiment of soldiers. They cannot be compelled by Act of Parliament to take care of .their health* nor is it possible for an army of experts to fix the amount of food and drink, of exercise and rest, each one of us shall take. But- the State is in a measure the guardian of the public health., and it can and must intervene at many points in order to provide wholesome stirrouirdings for the people and prevent the spread of disease. A striking esampte of State activity of this character Was inferred to by this Minister of. Pvtblie Health (the H(>K. K. H. Eho-dEs) in his speech at the opening of the Consumption Sari&t-oritvm at Christehurch on Wuctoesslaj'. Everyone will agree that the treatswni; 'of ewisumptives is oftp of the legitimate points of intorvwidon, but in ,->rdr-r tu make Hie Action of the State as effective as possible- it should ha backed up • liy the intelligent cooperation of_ the general" public. Compulsion in Hmm matters can do something, but unless the sufferers Ihfinselves, and thciy friends ami relatives, enter heartily into I he figliiagainst the. dissarc. (he results liitßt fall far short of what mirdu havn been achieved if the »Ja-n of cam 1 -

puign had ■ been worked out' on thorough and .complete linos. Mr. ■Rhodes.gave an outline of what the Health Department -proposes, to do, in co-operation with the ■ Hospital Hoards, for the prevention and cure of consumption. A gmii deal of ' ignorance and prejudice still exists, ■and it is necessary that it should be . removed if tho work is' to go on as smoothly and 'successfully as could ■be desired. The best .antidote to ignorance and its evil consequences I is knowledge, .and tho careful presentation of ascertained facts given by .Mil. Rhodes should help to brush as«fc a number of. erroneous ideas which are only too prevalent vegard- ' ing the nature of consumption. At _thc great Medical Congress : held in London last year a goor.l neai of prominence was given to the question of State medicine, and in the future this aspect of tho battle against, disease is certain to receive much more attention than it has in the past.. The campaign is going to be organised in a more thorough and extensive manner, and more determined and fdivreadiiflg efforts will be made to make the fullest and best use of the knowledge Which science has placed at our disposal. This does not mean that the public is to in made the victim of every medical fad and fancy, but greater opportunities will bft given for putting into operation, wherever posthe proved and tested results of scientific research in matters wMi.og to tho publk= health. The rather haphazard and half-hearted methods of the past have done so much to save and prolong life and prevent, disease that it is difficult to place bounds on the possibilities of a well-planned and wholehearted endeavour to raise the general standard of physical fitness,, in a, country like New Zealand. The campaign against consumption is already able to show positive results in the shape of a fall in the death-rates from this malady. The mortality from all forms of tuberculosis has decreased from 9.3S per 10,000 of the population in 190 ft to e.S9 in 1013.. The rate of deaths is lower in New Zealand iu 3-91.1 than in any of the Australian States., with the exception of Queensland,, and compares very favourably with that of "E'ri-g----land -a-nd Wales. Tho more systematic efforts now being made should still further reduce the rate in the near future. . But this is only one of the many aspects of State activity i» the prevention and cure of disease. In Britain and in other hinds a- {treat deal of attention is being paid to # the treatment of cancer, and itis possible that before long.we will see a State-direct-ed attack on venereal diseases,, which is at present being: investigated by a Commission in England. At the annual meeting of the British Medical Association, which will be held: in Aberdeen in July ussfe, a special section is devoted to State niedieina and_ medical jurisprudence. This seetioii includes such subjects as the State organisation of medical service, the legal investigation of canso of death and possible reforms., cettifieatioij of births and deaths,- the administrative treatment of tubercu-k-siSj -especially in regard to after care, and garde* cities for consumptives. The Merc enumeration of these subjects, gives a good indication of the .rapid advances which a». being made in the direction of more complete and systematic eo-onesatioh between the State- and the medical profession in the battle against all forms of huiuan malady.