CONSUMPTION SCOURGE

Shannon News, 16 November 1926, Page 2

CONSUMPTION SCOURGE

CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA. REDUCTION OF DEATH RATE. SAN FJftANCISCO, Oct. 20. The International Union Against Tuberculosis has been holding its fifth annual conference at Washington. Due to the fight put up against it by devoted intelligent effort and resources in the nations, this disease has fallen from is sinister place as "Captain of the Men of Death" to the third greatest cause of death, but which still de-' stroys more lives during the period form 15 to 45 than the other four px'incipal causes of death combined. The success of the fight has been shown by the reduction of the death rate of 201,8 per hundred thousand from tuberculosis in 1900 to 81.8 in 1925 in the United States. The reduction means the saving each year of 112,000 people—equal to the popu- , lation of Wellington—and the international body took great heart from hearing facts such as this disclosed to it by the .Secretary of the United States Treasury, on behalf of the President, speaking also as the member of f.he Cabinet responsible for the public health service of the country. Combined Science and Art. How science and art have co-oper-ated in devising a new method to aid physicians in diagnosing, tuberculosis in its early stages was described by ! Professor Friederich von Muller, of the tJniversity of Munich, one of the world's greatest physicians. In *deveioping his method, through which tne various sounds in the chest may be [ charted for interpretation with greater accuracy than heretofore has been possible, Dr. Muller called to his aid Adolf Busch, the celebrated violinist ■ whose well-trained ear fixed for him the note Avhich characterised the | healthy lung. This was found to averI age l°s vibrations a second. I The viD'ratiou o*. other notes, ordinarily heard by physicians through stethoscopes and then rated to the best of their ability, also were fixed. Mechanical means were devised to record them, eliminating the human equation which entered into the old method. With this accomplished, the formulation of graphic diagrams, like those employed in the study of temperature variations, became a simple matter. Professor Ronzoni, of Milan, declared, on the question of conimunicability, that preventive' measures should be applied principally in Infancy, which he regarded as the most vulnerable age. He discovered, among persons.from 20 io 40 years of,age, that 32 per cent, show the existence of latent tuberculosis. Adults In this condition presented all the appearance of health, he said. In 36 per cent, of the cases falling- under Ms ooscrvation over a long period he detected the appearance of progressive I infection from original lesions occurring probably in. infancy.