PLAGUE PRECAUTIONS

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 75, 21 December 1921, Page 4

PLAGUE PRECAUTIONS

MINISTER OF HEALTH IS ANXIOUS THE ATTACK ON RATS A statement regarding plague precautions, containing among other things the announcement that the luggage of passengers by ships from Australia would not require to be fumigated, was made in the House yesterday by the Minister of Health (Hon. C. J. Parr). Mr. Parr said that he had been pressed during the last two days to order that the luggage of passengers arriving from infected ports should be fumigated in New Zealand. The request had come from Auckland. At first he was disposed to consider it reasonable, tuid io do something in that direction. He had since conferred with the expert officers of the Department, who took- the view that the danger of infection from, fleas concealed in passenger’s luggage was not so great as to warrant disinfection in New Zealand. Tho DirectorGeneral of the Division of Hygiene, Dr. M. H. Watt, stated that he was far from convinced that tho measure would be of any practical value in affording New Zealand further protection. Speaking generally, the passengers’ luggage was the most innocuous class of article on board ship. Fleas were more likely to be found in the personal apparel of tho crew and passengers or among bales of merchandise.

.No country, so far as he was aware, had ever considered so extreme a measure as,the fumigation of healthy ships. If a case of plague was found on board' certainly the personal effects of the passenger and the immediate contacts should be thoroughly treated with hydrocyanic acid gas. The great danger was tlio rat. What tho community should lie on its guard against was the introduction into New Zealand of rats, and particularly of plague-infected rats. If a plague infected flea did become separated from its normal host, the rat, and came ashore in a passenger’s luggage, the risk is run by the passenger rather than by the community. If bitten the passenger would probably contract plague, but it was most improbable that _ho would serve ns a focus for the dissemination of the.disease. Those were tho opinions of his departmental officers, continued tho Minister. But he had also taken steps to ascertain what was being done in Australia. A dav or two ago he had cabled to the Director-General of Health for the Commonwealth asking if the cabin luggage of passengers on healthy ships from infected ports was being fumigated. The reply had been in the negative, so that apparently the fumigation of luggage was not being carried out in Australia. For these reasons tho Department had decided that it would not grin for a fumigation of luggage. It would be a great inconvenience to passengers, and the expert opinion was that the inconvenience would not bo repaid bv added safety. Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central): What precautions are being taken to prevent rats from coming ashore? The Minister said that endeavours were being made, to prevent rats from getting on the ships that come to Now Zealand ports. Tho essential precaution outside New Zealand was the fumigation of ships in infected ports before they left for New Zealand. • Th? quarantine authorities in Sydney were carrying out drastic fumigation of every ship coming to New Zealand. He believed Hint this work was being thoroughly done. Ho had communicated with Mr. W. R. Blow, the New Zealand Government agent in Sydney, asking him to satisfy himself that the precautions were thorough. Mr. Blow- had replied that he had personally inspected the ships trading to New Zealand, had seen the conditions under which the cargoes were placed on hoard, and was fully satisfied that everything possible was being done to prevent plague lining carried to the Dominion. Stringent measures were taken to prevent rats from obtaining a lodgment in cargo while it was on the wharves, particular attention being paid to foodstuffs. Before the cargo was placed in the slings each package was thoroughly inspected by quarantine officers. The wharves were inspected daily by harbour board officials, while tho cargo was again inspected before sailing, while crew and passengers were medically examined. It seemed almost impossible that plague could reach New Zealand by ship, if the Federal and State authorities could prevent it.

So much for the outside precautions, proceeded the Minister, but he wished to say a word or two about the precautions in New Zealand. The Department was still concerned with the risks.being run. If a stray rat should come ashore the matter would become serious. "Whether the human cases should bo confined to one or two people, whether they should be few or an epidemic, depended upon the authorities, the shopkeepers, and the householders in New Zealand. He wished to impress upon them the need for increased efforts. He whs glad to w able to say that since his last statement a few weeks ago there had been a considerable increase of activity. There still were many’rats, however, especially at ibe ports, and if was tho duty of tho°e he had named to see that the numbers were reduced. After detailing the precautions which should be taken, the Minister said that sufficient warnings had been given, nnd if there were people who had not Iren awakened to the duty which lay upon them they should lie prosecuted. He hoped the local authorities wou’d see that action was taken in tl-’t direction. Three prosecutions wore listed to lake place in Auckland this week. Ho hoped that the holidays would not result in any lessoning ef effort. People •should increase their efforts, for according to medical reports the danger was serious, and was imminent.