INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1751, 13 November 1917, Page 3

INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THE . DISEASE. Cases of infantile paralysis in the northern part of the Auckland province have been notified recently to the Auckland public health authorities, and Dr. J. T, Hughes, district health officer, visited the infected localities, which are chiefly in the Otamatea County. It is stated that the cases reported have often followed a somewhat unusual form, says the Herald. In some the onset has been marked by the patient suffering from malaise, or a general feeling of not being well, also from headache and pains in the neck and back, with gastro-intestinal disorers. • In some cases these symptoms have rapidly passed, leaving the child weak, but with no paralysis. Actual paralysis has not been one of the chief symptoms. The health authorities have drawn up a list of precautions which should be taken at schools and in the home to prevent the spread of the disease. Children should not be overcrowded or overheated, and schoolrooms should be well ventilated. Pens, pencils, and drinking-cups should not be used in common. Hats should bo worn, as the disease is always more virulent in hot weather. The frequent washing out of the mouth with a weak 'disinfectant is advocated. Children from any home where there has been a case of infantile 'paralysis should bo kept from school for one -month, and should be prevented from mixing with other children. All other precautions usually observed in diphtheria cases should be applied in cases of infantile paralysis.