THE SCARLET FEVER.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2523, 18 March 1871, Page 2

THE SCARLET FEVER.

We have been requested to publish the following letter :

“Dunedin, 17th March, 1871. “ To his Honor James Macandrew, Esq., “ Superintendent of Otago. “Sir—Wc, the undersigned heads of families in Dunedin, feeling g cat anxiety from tbc spread of scarlet fever throughout the Province, beg leave to request that, for the public satisfaction, you will cause a strict enquiry to be made into the proceedings of the Board of Health on the occasion of the arrival of the ship Robert Henderson, having cases of scarlet fever amongst her passengers ; and, further, we trust you will take immediate and vigorous steps for arresting the progress of this disease in town and country by such means as may promise to be most effectual.—We have the honor, Ac.—(Signed by) J. Rattray, 0. S. Brolrick, Geo. Whittinghaiu, John Stephenson, P. C. s eill, J, A, Jones, Daniel Campbell, Hugh M ‘Neil, J. T. Madeems, John Hamann, H,. W Meyer, Thomas Birch, J. Hyman, John Bathgate, John Edmond, George Shand, jun., I*. B. Martin, F. Beissel, Henry Tewaley, Henry Houehton, W. L. Lees, E. Prosser, Thomas W. Kempthorne, Qeqrge Cook, Geo. Turnbull, J. L. But tor worth, Henry Wise, M. Moss, C. H. Street, W. M- Hodgkins, Edw. Cook, Alfred »’>. Burton, Walter J. Burton, John George Draper, G, 0 Matheson, Thos, C. Mathcsou, F. Smith, Pierce Power, Hugh Kirkpatrick, Grant P. Parquhar, J. S. Webb, J. F Watson, R. S. Cantrell, G. F. Reid, Jas. Whitelaw, James A. Walcott, Geo. L. Sise, R. M. Robertson, C. R. Howden, James Brown.”

Dr Halley writes to the Taupeha Turns ou the above subject, and for the benefit of our readers wo quote from his letter : “ Perhaps the chief thing a mother should do is to know whether a child has scarlatina. For her beh >of I quote Dr Churchill: —‘ The earliest symptoms which manifest themselves are general uneasiness, lassitude, depression, aching in the back and limbs, rigors, loss of appetite, and third. Soon aftet vards, stiffness and pun in the throat, occasionally nausea and vomiting, always pain in the loins, headache, and drowsiness.' If these symptoms appear, especially if a rash appears, the throat becomes swollen. T should advise that means be taken to abate the fever and isolate the pa'lent. Let us suppose that a child living in a small house of two or three rooms, and showing some of the symptoms as described ; let that child be as completely isolated as possible ; let the hangings round the bed be saturated with a weak solution of carbolic acid, and all intercourse between that house and others be tabooed. Kind friends and neighbours say, ‘ Oh, poor Mrs So-and-So has three children down with the fever—let us see, can we do something to help her?” This ii one fruitful course of spreading scarlet fever without really doing any good. Again, a child is recovering from scarlet fever ; the old sfdn is'peeling 1 off, and the mother congratulat's herself that her child is hefter, .SJm galls ijj hep neigh! purs, and kills the fatted calf, “For this my child which was dead s alive.” Fatal mistake ! The vi i y old skin in countless infinitesimal d iscs of poison is float'ug through the air, settling on madam’s cap or mistress’s coat, and carrying surely sctrlct fever home. After the eruption and all symptoms seem to the parents past, the child should beheld in quarantine at least a fortnight. There is nothing again so liable to spread scarlet fever tfio elptfips pf pejjsoqs suffering froip d’sease ; in all cacs, if not destroyed, qll bedclothes, &c., 'hoqld be subjected to boiling heat at least. As many of your readers may be unaware of the px>o t erties of carbolic acid, and as several Lave askoel me what is the best disinfectant and destroyer of the scarletina vims, I should recommend carbolic acid in certain proportions, I should recommend that all rooms in which children are suffering from scarlatina should bo sprinkled several times daily with this solution ; and in fact this cheap prophylactic might easily supersede the use of camphor, of which I hear several ladies have been laying in a stock. Let me tell them it is a perfectly useless material.”