WHITE SCOURGE

NZ Truth, Issue 1216, 21 March 1929, Page 6

WHITE SCOURGE

Need For Prompt Action To Combat Tuberculosis HOSPITAL BOARDS' VIEWS (Prom "N.Z. Truth's" Palmerston North Representative). A man came to, us cougning up millions of germs, but he had no hope (of getting into the Sanatorium for five months ... He i has gone back to live with his children . . . We had no beds to spare . . . We ought to be m a position to say to that man: 'Come m this afternoon." ' - ' ,

THIS was the statement of a wellknown medicai man at the Hospital Board's conference at Palrherston North when tuberculosis was being discussed. Running throughout a prolonged discussion at the conference was the golden thread of determination to do all possible to combat the menace of tuberculosis m NeW-~ x Zealand. The question was easily . the most important that came before the conference when ' delegates were asked to decide whether the care and treatment of T.B. sufferers was a proper function of hospital boards or whether it was : a matter for the State to take In hand; They affirmed the prinpiple'that it was the duty of hospital boards, although those m favor of State control were numerous. The position as accepted by. the con-

ference was aptly put by Dr. Watt, Acting - Director - General of Health, when he v stated that, primarily, the rtenarthient was

concerned with prevention and. the boards with treatment. Lately the department's activities had been -extended .and an endeavor was made to carry out a much closer supervision of ' contacts than • before, especially child, contacts. Condemnation of a number of practices carried out came from Dr. Mclntyre, superintendent of the tuberculosis institution at Ghristchurch. People m advanced stages of the Misease, he said, should be treated m a scientific manner m "sanatoria. ■ They should be given a. chance of recovery and not.put m side shelters at public hospitals arid practically left there to die. '"; ' Advanced cases should not be . looked upon' from a segregation point of view but from the humanitarian aspect, especially as those sufferers often reached the ad- . vanced stage of the diseasethrough no fault of their own. Dr. Mclntyre proceeded . to. . give the conference^ much useful information about the disease. . „ V;-'; ■-. .-••'■'-■-.; ■-. "■"-..- ; :'■ ' -:'■ . ■ ■' " '. . '

Useful Information

T. 8., he said, was hot an infectiousdisease like scarlet fever.' One had to' come m prolonged contact to catch ft' and the infection was more easily" caught m childhood. The qu3Stion of treatment -was largely a matter of prevention, and if a child* were placed In healthy surroundings one had then done his; best to prevent that child from getting the' disease m adult life. • '■•' •'"- '.-'■'• ->y "We should all aim at eliminating ; the spread of the disease' from adults.y to children, and we must have sufllr « cient accommodation for; the treatment of, these advanced cases," declared Dr. .Mclntyre. ."■''. V ' ."A man came, to us coughing upy millions of germs," he continued, "but he had no hope of getting into; the Sanatorium for. five month's. /''He has gone back to live with his children as we had no bed to spare.

We should :be v m the position -to say to that man:- --' Gome m this afterf noon.'" The first thing to do, he, added,

was to get a sufficient number of beds. During the past 25 years the death rate from T.B. m New Zealand had fallen ''by.,.so per cent, and now the Dominion had one of the , lowest death rates from the disease m the world. * But the rate was still too high, and if the hospital boards would spend the necessary money, m another 25 years the death rate would be reduced by half again. Dr. Mclntyre also ' stressed the need to go out m search of the sufferers. There was a large number of cases of T.B. which one did not know about. That had been /proved by activities m North" Canterbury. ■ ■/ ■-■-■- In some 88 per cent, of the cases at that institution the disease had been arrested and there were only four who had suffered a recurrence, it was said. The conference approved of a proposal to form two groups of hospital boards m each Island with the object of establishing eventually, a sanatoria to be run on co-operative lines Ilka ths Waipiata institutiojw . " '.. . " ; ' ;*' ~\