PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Hokitika Guardian, 13 December 1924, Page 4

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

A PROGRESS REVIEW. (By Science Service.) The British Association for the Advancement of Science opened its session here to-night with the inaugural address of the president, Major-General Sir David Bruce, K.C'.B., F.R.S., chairman c.f tlie governing body of the Lyster Institute of Preventive Medicine, who outlined the new strategy of medical science in its efforts to prevent the disease and disability which cause a direct loss annually amounting to 750,000.000 dollars in England and 30.000.000.000 dollars in the United States. When the British Association first met in Canada forty years ago, “we were,” said the speaker, ‘‘still in the gloom and shadow of the Dark Ages. Now we have come into the light. Alan has come into his heritage, and seems now to possess some particle of the universal creative forces in virtue of which lie can wrest P'oin Nature the secrets so jealously guarded by her, and bend them to lii.s own desire.”

What has been and can be accomplished in the way of prevention where the causes of disease are known was illustrated by many cases ol army experience, where complete and comparable statistics are available. For instance, in the South Alrican. liar at tie' beginning of tlie campaign, where the British had only 203.000 troops, there were 58.000 cases of typhoid fever and 3000 deaths. But in the Great War on the western front, with an average British strength of one and a quarter million, there were only 7500 cases of typhoid, • and 200 deaths. Hint is. after iiinoculation with injections ol dead typhoid bacilli, there were fewer cases of the disease in the Great A\ar than there were deaths from it. in the African war. In the French army there W| , r ,, r. ;m*l !\ 12.90^

deaths in the hint sixteen months before the French adopted anti-typhoid vaccination. VERMIN. Trench lever, which was unknown hel'ore the war. and of which the germ is still I unknown, r ausotl mure than n million cases ol illness in tlie Allied armies before 1018. when it was discovered that lice carried tlie invisible virrs. When the louse was eliminated the trench fever went with it. During l'.he first two months of the war, nine or ten of every thousand of the wounded were infected with tetanus, and 85 per cent. <J these died cl' it. After the introduction of anti-tetanic serum, the cases fell to about one per thousand, and the mortality to icss than half.

Typhus fever is also carried by a louse; Rocky Mountain fever by the wood-tick; malarial and yellow fevers by mosquitos; tlie African sleeping sickness by the tsetse fly; ami in all such cases the disease may he eliminated or kept down by getting rid of the inuects. Rut tuberculosis is not so easily dealt with. Tu fact, if any country should succeed in clearing itself of the tubercle bacillus it would he dangerous for any of its inhabitants to travel abroad, for they would very likely fall victims to the disease. What Fir David Riuco says on this important question should be' quoted directly, since the British Government has adopted very extensive and expensive nuvisurcs 'to prevent tuberculosis: ‘•[11 regard to the tubercle bacillus, it is so widespread, so übiquitous in civilised communities, passing from 0110 infected host to infect another,, that it would seem impossible under existing conditions to prevent its spread. At present it is taught, and on what seems good evidence, that the majority of Hie population of our crowded cities has at one time or another been attacked by the disease- But in every hundred men who die in England only about ten die of tuberculosis, which shows that a large percentage of the population successfully resist Hie tubercle bacillus. “When this occurs it means that the person attacked possessed powers of resistance which enabled him either to destroy the invading bacilli or to otherwise deal with them so as to render them harmless. EARLY DIAGNOSIS. “\ point of importance in this connection is that it has recently hcen demonstrated that the disease is usualh acquired in childhood. The fact is ot capital significance for if the disease is recognised sufficiently early, and the child is placed under good hygienic conditions, there is n. very good chance of effective resistance and immunity against a second attack being set up. The present evidence goes to show Hurt the presence of latent tubercle prevents a. second invasion. “The preventive measures against tuberculosis ta the present time arc. in the first place, improvement 111 the general hygienic conditions. Thereby individual resistance—and communal tcsistance—can ho remarkably increased. “In the second place, as every case of tuberculosis must arise from a previous ease either human or liovine. it is very necessary that methods of early diag-

posis, preventive treatment, and segregation of tlie more infective types may be provided for. This is done by the setting up of tuberculosis dispensaries, care, committees, sanatoria, hospitals, and colonies,” i Enough is now known about tlie essentials of health and the causes of disease -to secure lor the next generation sounder bodies and safer lives, if man could !>o allowed to work out bis salvation in peace, but as Sir David said :

“To saddle the country with a million and a half of unemployed, with the consequent poverty, insufficient food, clothing, and bousing, is not calculated to further the prevention of disease and raise the standard of health. Is it. too much to hope that some time in the revolving years a time may come when. by a Confederation or League of Nations, the world may lie so policed that no 011 c country will be able with impunity to attempt the destruction of its neighbour? Until this happens it is difficult to see bow rickets, tuberculosis, and other diseases can be adequately dealt with in our city populations.”

WG-MAN’S GREATEST CHARM. “ N„, my dear, powders only clog the skin. Nothing so attractive as a clear, fresh, natural complexion, and the best aid to that is Alaltoxo (Wilson’s Afalt Extract). Maltexo tones up the system, removes impurities, enriches the blood, and imparts the clear, fresh complexvioU of good health.”