CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3734, 24 December 1927, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

“T. 8.” AND PUBLIC IGNORANCE. (To the Editor). 'Sir.— Some time ago there appeared in the local (Palmerston) paper a report of an address given by Dr. McLean, Medical Superintendent to the Pukeora Sanitorium on the subject of T. 8., Sanataria, etc. If you could again give me a few inches of space) I would like to heartily endorse every word Dr. McLean said, speaking from the point of view of a sufferer from, T.B. for several yeai’s. “The only fly in the ointment” was the fact of his hearers being confined to the members of the Luncheon Club and was not broadcasted through New Zealand. Had it been so and coming from such a source it would have done a great deal towards correcting the fatuous ideas the general public has as regards sanitorium and T.B. patients. Dr. McLean did voluntarily what it is the plain duty of the Health Department to do. They (the Health Department), I take it are (speaking broadly) in the same position re Public Health as the New Zealand Rugby Union are in matters of Rugby football. Their mission in life (or part of it) I should say is to instruct the public in the best and 1 latest methods of combating the various diseases that are floating around, also to instruct the public how to carry out the ordinary functions of daily life in< a manner most calculated to result in the general good of a community—and God knows the public need it. . The attitude of the general public towards a T. 8., more especially if he has been through a sanitorium training, is senseless, illogical and unnecessarily cruel. Par be it from me to advocate the lessening of proper precautions, but for goodness sake let us have common sense and utility with them.

If a man-in-the-street discovers that he is in the company of a T.B. subject, he is off for his life, as a rule to get as far away from this deadly 'menace as he can. When he has run as far as his wind will let him, by way of being consistent, he will probably invite himself into -the nearest pub. and have “one with the flies” using a glass out of which goodness knows who has been drinking, and what contagious disease he or they are infected with. The said glass is “washed” by being popped into a tub of luke warm water and wiped on a towel perhaps less said about both water and towel the better. Prom the point of view of rendering the glass germ-proof, fit for the use of the public, this washing is about as • futile as hitting Jack Dempsey with a powder puff. There is one way and one way only of properly disinfecting utensils used by a T.B. (or any other infectious disease) infected person, and that is sterilising by being placed in a suitable vessel and boiled for a certain time. Now, Sir, I’ll ask you, or any other intelligent person .how often is this done in tea rooms, hotel bars, soft drink bars, etc. I’ll answer that question by saying NEVER. Why does not the Health Department step in and make it compulsory for every one who provide utensils for eating and drinking by the public, after the ordinary washing up, to pass every thing through boiling water and be dried on a “sterile” towel or let it drain dry. The ex-sanitorium patient it he is playing the game and has profited by his sanitorium training, acts as follows: he will not breathe directly into your face, he will always cough or sneeze, etc., into a handkerchief, and if lie has cause to expectorate it is done into the little blue bottle referred to by Dr. McLean. Are the general public doing their share of this sort of thing? Note the state of the floors of railway carriages, pavements, etc., and where ever people are congregated and answer that question.

The writer well remembers the first time he had occasion to use the blue bottle in the train. He had coughed up some sputum (which, when dry is the deadliest means of spreading the disease), and proceeded to deposit it in the flask. Had he committed the most disgusting nuisance he could not have earned the looks of scorn, etc., accorded him by the occupants of the carriage. Of course what he should have done and nobody would have objected, was to spit on the floor and rub it with his foot, thereby impregnating the floor and the sole of his boot with millions of germs, which when the surface dried, would be spread all over the place. You can’t kill T.B. germs like cracking fleas. The sputum flask which caused all the excitement, is shaped to fit the pocket, .of opaque glass, so that the contents cannot be seen, has a rubber and" steel bayonet top, which is air and moisture tight, and shaped so that it is easily cleaned and sterilized, f lie (contents are kept in a harmless state till properly disposed of by burning. If immunity from T.B. and other diseases depended entirely on avoiding contact with the germ, we would all have it. In township or city one has as much chance of dodging disease germs as he has of dodging the rain drops on a wet day. There are any amount of people who have the trouble active and don’t know it, but are highly infectious never-the-less. Also we must not forget our old friend “Strawberry” down on the farm.” If an ex-T.B. patient is the dangerous object the general public seem to think he is, how is it that there are members of the staff at

Pukeora Sanitorium, who have been there .since the institution started, and whose duties take them into personal contact with the worst eases. They use certain simple and common sense precautions and have personally assured the writer that they never felt better in their lives and they certainly looked it. There are also visiting committees, who go round and visit the bed cases, etc. Concert parties who give performances in the sanitorium picture hall tp packed audiences of patients, yet no one has heard of any of them contracting T.B. If the community in general were run on the lines of sanataria (and they could quite easily be too), T.B. as a whole would get a mighty bump. In conclusion, the general public has its duty to perform as well as the patient, and until both realise their respective positions and act accordingly we will not get very far along the desired road. There is nothing to be gained by harrowing fhe feelings of the T.B. subject by virtually blaming him for all the trouble," and at the same time disobeying the simplest rules of personal and public health. Thanking you etc., SUFFERER.