INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2838, 27 January 1925, Page 3

INFANTILE PARALYSIS.

No further eases of infantile pai a'lysis were reported to the Palmersi on Hospital district during the week end. A nurse in the Wellington Hospital has been infected. There were 42 cases in the Auckland Health District up to Saturday, including four deaths. The 36 cases this month are in 30 different localities, 25 being in greater Auckland and 11 in the country. An outstanding feature is the wider range of distribution—from Wliangarei to the southern border of the province. Another feature is the number of children in the best homes who have been affected. Four adults, men from 18 to 28, are also sufferers. The following has been received from the Department of Health. — With regard to the public health measures which arc being taken to combat the epidemic of infantile paralysis, everything is being done that is commonly recognised throughout the world-to be applicable to this aspect of public health administration. It may he said that as much is known in New Zealand in regard to this disease generally as is known in any part of the world. There is a considerable amount of knowledge of the disease, and it is not so mysterious as is generally supposed, but there is room for more extensive investigation of the' bacteriology of the disease and of treatment by serum or other methods. Hitherto, it has been reasonable for the health authorities iu a relatively small community like New Zealand to look for discoveries and additional information from older and more populous countries. This unfortunate epidemic of infantile paralysis in New Zealand affords an excellent opportunity for local research, and New Zealand is now in a position to undertake this work. We now have in New Zealand laboratories and laboratory workers ■fully equipped, such as are essential to systematic investigation of epidemics. The Government has appointed a very highly competent laboratory worker to give his whole time to investigation, and the results so far have been very encouraging. It is reasonable to suppose that as the results of this special work which is being done in Wellington, the knowledge in regard to the exact nature of the virus of infantile paralysis will bo increased and treatment improved so that if, unfortunately, more epidemics should occur in New Zealand or elsewhere, throughout, the world, the medical profession will be better equipped than at present as the result of the investigation, that is being done in Wellington. A girl aged 11 years, was admitted from Feilding to the Palmerston N. hospital during the weekend and the authorities believe she is suffering from infantile paralysis, although no definite decision had Ween arrived at last night.

The Health Department had received the following notifications of fresh cases of the disease for the 48 hours ending at 9 a.m. yesterday: Auckland City, 2; Ellerslie, 1; Tauranga, 1; Masterton, 5; Mauriceville West 1. There have been no fresh cases in Wellington or the suburban districts during the past two days. The total number of cases in the Dominion for the past two days was 10 and for the preceding two days 17. In the past two months there have been 200 cases, of which 47 have occurred in the Auckland Health district and 152 in the Wellington district. The latter includes Wellington, Taranaki, and Hawke’s Bay provinces (practically the southern half of the North Island) and Marlborough and Nelson in the South Island. The majority of the notifications have been received from Wellington City and suburbs. There has been no case in Marlborough. The age incident of the cases in the Wellington health district from the start of the epidemic on November 25th, 1924, was as Under 1 year, 6 cases; 1 to 5 years of age, 88 cases; 5 to 10 years, 37 cases; 10 to 15 years 11 cases; over 15 years, 10 cases. Five cases of infantile paralysis were reported at Wanganui yesterday. Three are of a serious nature. The first case of infantile paralysis during the present epidemic was notified in the Dannevirke district yesterday, a child of a settler at Ruaroa. It is an acute case. The second case of infantile paralysis was notified at Nelson yesterday and had a fatal termination, after a day’s illness. Six cases of infantile paralysis were notified in the Auckland health district yesterday, two being Ellerslie, and one each at Northeote, Grey Lynn, Ponsonby and Manuwera. It is also announced that four deaths from the disease occurred at the Aucklad hospital on Saturday, Ihese being of two girls aged ten months and five years. Regarding the gargles recommended as precautionary measures, the proportions for the Condy’s gargle is three or four of the crystals—sufficent to make pinkish coloured solution —to a tumbler-full of water. For the potassium permanganate gargle, the proportion is one teaspoonful of the salts in a tumbler of warm watei\ Both solutions are to be gargled; in the case of small children a throat spray is the best method of applying the solution. A DOCTOR’S ADVICE. Auckland, January 26. An Auckland doctor, while speaking regarding infantile paralysis, said that it was a rather striking fact that m,ost of the Auckland eases were those of children who came from good homes and who were well fed and well cared for. It was one of the things hard to understand in connection with the disease that it

would pick out apparently the most healthy child in a large family and all the others would be unaffected. He had seen most of the cases, and what had struck him was the most of them! were bonny children. In some directions there had been considerable unnecessary panic amongst families who had “shacks” at the beaches. They had hurried back to their homes in the city because they associated the disease with the seaside. In every ease where he had been asked for his opinion, he had told the people to go back to their beach homes again and to take precautions to keep their children’s head and top part of their spines well shaded or covered from the rays of the sun. Why formerly so many cases had happened at the seaside was that the sun was allowed to beat down on the head and shoulders, which meant that the top of the spine was weakened, and then the child had not the same powers of resistence to the disease. At a shack a family had greater chances of isolation than by. coming back to the city and all that was needed was to take proper precaut ions and carry out faithfully the instructions given by the Health Department.* He knew nothing worse than to allow children to travel backwards and forwards between tlieir holiday home and their residence in the city.