A SERIOUS EPIDEMIC

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2818, 8 July 1916, Page 11

A SERIOUS EPIDEMIC

DIPHTHERIA liS HAWKE'S BAY. 1 The. sorioils diphtheria epidemic which is afflicting- tho Hau'ko's Bay district was the subject of"a question addressed to the Minister of Public Health (tho Hon. G. W. Russell) in the House of Representatives yesterday by Mr. George Hunter. • - Mr. Hunter said ho wished to ask the Minister whether his attention' had been called to ..the outbreak among tho children attending many of the district of the Hawke's Bay district, and,; if so, whether he was taking any active steps, to; deal, with the outbreak?' Ho did not wish'to say anything to create a. scare, but the epidemic was. sufficiently serious to warrant him in asking: the Minister whether ho would take action along with the Minister of Education to deal.with this serious outbreak. • MY. .Russell su id that immediately, on the" outbreak ofceurring' the' ; Jnspecto.r-' Gehernl;.of. ~HosiVitills, „ .'.(-Dr." Valintine) made a", special : visit ,to ; 'Ha^'ke'3'.(,'Pay.,' ans ho siitsequeiitly clisp'atched tho District Health Officer to the locality. -This officer (Dr. Smith) had furnished a report on tho epidemic.' In . this roport Dr. Smith stated that all the ordinary channels of infection were eliminated with the exception of tho schools, and it appeared' thai infection was spread entirely'through the schools.' Of 245 cases reported, r l4O had beon among children actually attending school, and a consid-' enable of the remainder occurred among children not of school age .belonging to families in which there wero children attending school.' Dr. Smith stated in his report that it was impossible for him to examine some thousands of school children, and it p'as absolutely necessary that the throats of these children be examined, and swabs of them all taken for bacteriological,examination. In view of the griat difficulty of making this examination, he suggested that' the school medical inspector be sent to tho district to work with the Health Department. Dr. Smith proposed that a laboratory bo iitted up for the examination of swabs locally; Hc( stated, also, that ho had! found a considerable number of children wits bad teeth and "enlarged tonsils. Indeed, in some of the Hastings schools ho could Dot remember seeing a normal throat, and if there, was infection about these children must become infected. Mr. Russell, said 'that he proposed to refer the report to tho Ministeroorf r Education, because it contained references'to the condition of some of tho schools, tho lack of knowledge of hygiene on the part of some of tho teachers, and to the prevalence in the schools of certain insanitary conditions and practices.