TUBERCULOSIS.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 199, 29 August 1901, Page 3

TUBERCULOSIS.

Dll KOCH'S OPINION CHAL-

LEXGED.

By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyrigh Adelaide, Aug. 28.

The Premier has received a letter from Dr Cockburn, ex-Agent-General, who acted as Vice-President of one section of the Tuberculosis Conference in London. He says that the almost unanimous opinion was that Dr Koch had drawn a hasty generalisation from an insufficient number of eases. The most eminent physicians emphatically differ from Dr Koc.i'- interpretation of the phenomena of abdominal tuberculosis. The overwhelming opinion is that until further experiments are made it would be a fatal

mistake to relax one jot the precautions to prevent the distribution of tuberculosis by meat and milk.

London, July 23. A feature of to-day’s session of the British Congress of Tuberculosis was Professor Koch's paper, which was listened to with the deepest interest by the big gathering in St. James’ Hall. Lord Lister introduced the noted German professor to the assembly with a few complimentary words. During his address Dr. Koch said his experiments had satisfied him that human tuberculosis and bo vine tuberculosis were radically different diseases and that he had amply demonstrated that cattle could not be infected with human tuberculosis. The counter proposition that human beings were not liable to infection from bovine tuberculosis v, s hard to prove, the doctor said, owing to tiie difficulty of experimenting upon human subjects, but personally iie was satisfied such was the case, and he recited at length the postmortem evidence supporting this belief.

Or. Koch said if this point were conceded it remained to determine the chief source of contagion. Continuing, lie said that human immunity to bovine infection disposed of the belief of infection through dairy products, and he considered this source of danger so slight as to be unworthy of precautionary measures.

Heredity was also an unimportant factor m the transmission of tuberculosis, though the contrary had long hcen believed. Dr Koch said the chief danger of contagion lay in the sputum of consumptive patients, and that a remedy was to lie found in a law preventing the consumptive from strewing contagion about him. Several methods to this end were available, said tiie doctor, the surest of which is isolation in sanitoriums. l'his, unfortunately, was impracticable, but lie strongly urged the establishment of special consumptive hospitals and the obligatory notification of the authorities of the existence of the disease, the disinfection of their quarters whenever consumptives changed their residence, and the dissemination of information to the people concerning the true nature of consumption, to aid in avoiding and coinbating it. Dr. Koch highly complimented Dr. Herman M. Biggs, pathologist and director of tiie bacteriological laboratories of the New York Health Department, upon the repressive measures concerning tuberculosis taken in New York, where, lie said, the mortality from tuberculosis had been reduced iio per cent, since IHH6, and recommended the system organised by Dr Biggs in Now York to the study and imitation of all munipalities. Dr Koch closed his remarks by expressing his belief that the ultimate stamping out of tuberculosis was possible.