CONFERENCE OF COUNCILLORS AND MEDICAL MEN. Auckland, April 18. TYPHOID IN AUCKLAND.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 257, 21 April 1888, Page 6

CONFERENCE OF COUNCILLORS AND MEDICAL MEN. Auckland, April 18.

TYPHOID IN AUCKLAND.

Tin: recent serious outbreak of typhoid fever in Ponsonby Ward formed the subject of a conference last evening 1 between the Legal Committee of the City Council and several medical gentlemen who were present by invitation. His Worship the Ma> or (Mr A. Vj. Pe\oie) piesidcd, and theio were presenters. Atkin, Hewson, Gairatt, and Holland, members of the Committee. Dis. Knicrht, Stoekwell, Lewi:-, and Diiwmhi, Mr Uoldie, Sanitary lnspectoi, and Mr .). A. Pond. The Mayor said the meeting was the le<mlt of a resolution passed by the City Council, tho object", being to consider the question of typhoid fever m the city, and more especially the serious outbreak in Ponsonby. Several medical gentlemen who were to be conferred with had not been invited that evening, as there would have been too many. The opinion of those not present that night would be taken at tho next conference. His "Worship proceeded to say that ho had obtained the barometer readings for the three months ended Mai eh last, and found that the atmosphere in 1887 was warmer than the average, and in 1888 it. wa- cooler. The rainfall in 1888 had been sweater than usual. The population in 1888 had been smaller than in the previous year, and tho drainage bettei. Notwithstanding all these facts, theie had been a great increase in typhoid in Ponsonby dining the 188S quarter. There weie fewer cases reported this year by 14 for the whole city, but the increase had been in Ponsonby. The leturns for that district showed that there had been seven c;>scs in Ponsonby la*t year, and 48 eases this year. A medical gentleman who had not been invited to the conference gaxeit as his opinion that the eil'ect of flushing the channel* was to carry contagion in all diiections. There had been four deaths from typhoid in Ponsonbj- la^t year, and six this year. The Mayor then called upon Pi. Stockwell as the Health Oilicer of the city. Y>v. Stockwell ga"\ c a nauativeof the first outbreak of t} phoid in Ponton by so far as he was concerned. The fust case he had was a boy of his ow n name at the tramway stables, and from him lie heai-d that there had been six or eight cases to his knowledge piexiously. He made inquhies at the lequest of the Mayor, and found that of the cases leported in Ponsonby, a number were amongst tramway stables employees, while others, were in houses in the neighbouihood of the stabler He also pointed out the danger to health by noi-ome etHu\ia from Wai nock's ana Hellaby's, and other places. These weie a stioncj menace to health. He accompanied Mr Goldie to the tiamway stables, and found a large accumulation of manure on the piemises. There w ss a week * accumulation from 120 hoises. Thelhing accommodation for t lie tiamway employee*, too, was insufficient, many of the people ha\ing only between 250 and 500 cubic feet of *pace, and they did not allow anything for beds or tables. The -=pace allowed was \eiy much lower than it ought to lm\e been, while the situation was about north-cast from the manuie heap. The prevailing wind w a*, liom southwest, =o that the efflux ia v ere blown o\er the house. It \va- to this cause that he attributed the outbreak. The Mayor : Those defects of accommodation w eie lemedied on your recommenda tion, doctor. Doctor Stockwell : Oh, yes, and there lias not been a case since. Dr. Lewis pointed out that the men weie not sleeping theie. Dr. Stockwell proceeded to -ay that •-ewer ga>e? and elilmia fiom manuie heaps were prolilic causes of typhoid, while water and milk contamination might also cause it. The Mayor said he had a satisfactory analysis of the city water. Dr. stockwell said he did not wish to que-tion the purity of the city water, and analysis would detect typhoid miciobes. Dr. .stockwell added that theie v.as a ca^e of typhoid at \\ estern Spiings last \ ear and it \\a- not leported. He thought that wa« a very serious matter, He quoted f torn a work by Dr. Parkes an eminent authority on hygiene, in nhich th.it jrentlemanennmei.tied various eau«e^ or typhoid These included «ewy^e emanations, openino of old drains, and the imperfect manner in which sewage matter l- iemo\ed, while typhoid ea-es had occui led where there was no expoMne to *ewer air. Dr. Stockwell mentioned two leroai kasle ca-e- that occurred in his own experience. Returning from the Crimea in a troopship, on which the Mnell from the horses' stables was atrocious, two cases of typhoid occurred. The \e c &el condensed her own water. There were about 200 hoi>e-, and aboxe these slept 200 men. The two ca<-es were amongst men who slept in clo-e proximity to the stables. Coming out fiom Home on the ship Siara, the water ran out and the condensers were started. Two cases of typhoid fever broke out immediately afterwards, and were difficult to account lor. In tho<-c cases theie was no suspicion of fr^cal matter or .sewer gas. The doctor also mentioned two remarka^e outbreaks of typhoid amongst the troops in the barracks at Malta. The only cau>e to which those outb/eak.s could bo attubuted was a defective sewer which had been choked by the stones falling in, andfromin«-ufhcient banack accommocLv tion. To Ills mind, theontbreak of typhoid in Pon=onby w a*> due to noxious exhalations irom manuie heapsand to other sources. It was a fact that there might be special microbes developed under certain cucurnfctance'-. The Mayor a.sked why it was that the ril&jority of the Ponsonby cases were ;<toong\st men who weie accustomed to come to town during the day, and not wotfton. who were in Ponsonby all day. D)c. Stockueli said he did not think it possible to give any explanation of that. The men came to Queen street, where the air waS not .so good, and were subject to the heat of the city, and they had poorer food. Surely the air in Pon.sonby was better than in Queen-street ! The Mayor could nob understand why so few of the cases were among&t women who were in Ponsoriby all day. Cr. Garratt asked if closets were nob likely to be the primary causes. Dr. Stockwell said this was undoubtedly po, and that might especially be so in Chapel and Wyndham febreetb, and other similar feweet localities. The doctor proceeded to say that Dr. Knight had reminded him of the remarkable freedom from typhoid of nightmen, who were so directly exposed to ftecal influences. Replying to Cr. Atkin, Dr. Stockwell feaid the smell came from the digesters used by Hellaby's, Warnocks, and the Tallow Company. This cause fehould be lemoved. The Mayor pointed out thab there had been no cases of typhoid in the track of the wind between tho.se factories and the tramway stables. Dr. Lewis was next called upon. He aia his opinion was that the whole of the

oases in the lodging houses and in Mr Kidds, at the tramway stables, wore easily traceable to the first in a lad named Sutherland. Dr. Stockwell : Did you report that ease ': Dr. Lewi? : No ; I think tho Hospital did. Dr. Stockwell : No ; I think not. Dr. Lewis continued to pay that after tin? boy was sont to tho Hospital, cases 1 began to coino rapidly day after day. Aftor the second or third eases, he inspected tho premises thoroughly, and he was convinced ' that tho whole of the trouble was duo to tho hlthy condition of tho earth closets at tho ' tramwa\ stables. Ho ordered that tho whole of tho boxes should be burnt, and they had a bo ji tire that night. There wero very few cases- after that. Very little earth was supplied to the boxes, and their contents consisted simply of ftvees and paper. The stink was simply horrible. There seemed to be a clear ! connection between tho iir&fc casos and those that followed, for the microbes would ha\ c had just time to develop. Tho generally accepted opinion was that typhoid did not. develop till 24 hours after they were ! deposited, and after that time they were ' very \ indent. 1 Dr. Stockwell would liko to sco an authority on that statement. Dr. Lewis- said it was the generally ac- | cepted opinion, and was proceeding to , argue the matter, when the Mayor said it i would be better if the medical gentlemen settled that question amongst themselves, when they met together after this con- ' ference. 5 The Mayor : Have you noticed the | noxious eilhivia from the factories outside 1 the city ? Yes. ' Are they injurious ? Well, they might be further away from the City, but the nuisance is not a great | one. Dr. Stockwell suggested that, according 1 to Dr. Lewis's theoiy, if a boy at school : had typhoid, every boy who followed him at clo-et would ha%e fe%er also. Dr. Lewis : That is so. Dr. Stockwell dissented, and said constipation was an indication of typhoid. In reply to the Mayor, Dl. Lewis said he was the first doctor who saw the typhoid patients at tho tramway ' stables. Dr Stockwell commented on the fact that Dr. Lewis, who was the Health Officer, had ' not leportcd those case--, and nothing was known of them till he found them out. Some warm words were passing between the two medical gentlemen, when Dr. Daw son pointed out that they were dnerging from the subject. Dr. Knight said he thought in one or two instance* the typhoid cases were due to open chains. Hi^ attention hud also been drawn to a very bad slough or mire at the top of John-stieet, and in the immediate neighbourhood of which two eases had occurred. John-street was ne.xt to Allens block, and oft Jervois Road. There were wells to both of two houses, and also a well to a place in Wallace-street where he had a case. Another patient in Wallacestreet thought he had taken the disease from the etHuvia in a cellar at his place of business. The mother ot the little child who caught typhoid in Wallacestieet thought her little one gofc the disease from the eflluvia arising from a dead cat which was putrifying in u drain alongside the house. The drains looked \ery stagnant before much Hushing was done, but they looked much cleaner lately. He thought that numbers of case* had arisen from the open drains in the stieet?, where water was hing stagnant and \egetable mattei was in cuuisc of decomposition. A lady in Newton two or three years ago had attributed the disease to tho Hidden etlluvia from a drain which she was passing, and which struck her suddenly. By the Mayor : He did not think that the -mell trom the factories was. \evy dancri-rou-, and moie especially was this so with that iiom Warnocks, which was heated, and therefoie le&? dangeious. The Ma} or: Then you appioxe of the flushing ot the chains ? Dr. Knight : Certainly. I may add that the sewer in Freeman's Bay is \cry ollensne. The Mayor : Have you noticed it lately ? I behe\e it has been deepened again. Dr. Knight : "\ c-> ; and it is very bad. I ha\e had to hold my nose in passing it. (Jr. uanatt mentioned that there were six cases ot t) phoid in Basque lioad, tind only tuo weie leportea. The Ma\or a~ked Dr. Knight if lie could account foi the small propoition ot cases amongst females in Pon-onb\, who weie at home all da) . The proportion was one in six, and siuely if Ponsonby was such an unhealthy di-fciict they should run a greater n«k fiom the fact that they tvcie in the distnct all day. [ Dr. Knight could not explain thefact, but said the proportion oi j typhoid cas-op amongst men was invariably gi eater than among.st women. Then again, men were worrying in town all day, and coming home exhausted ; had the opportunity of getting the typhoid fiom the sewer smell when they were crossing Freeman's Bay. The iMayor referred Dr. Stockwell to two case- where young men took the disease after coming out ot the Fresh and Saltwater Baths respectively. Dr. Stockwell said it was a fact, but he could nob explain it. Both young men lived in healthy localities. Dr. Daw&on said the soil in Pon aonby was suitable tor the reception of typhoid, the drainage was bad, theie weie earth closets without earth, many wells for the supply of water to private houses, and various noxious, efHuvia that were blown ovei the district. If none of these would cause typhoid, the whole of them would piepare the system for the leception of this or any other fever. Ffe thought the present outbieak in P-onsonby therefore was really very .simple. In Newmarket several years ago theie was a similar outbreak, and also one in Par.ne.ll. They had all the conditions in tho district for an outbreak of the disease. In reply to the Mayor, Dr. Dawson said, with respect to the factories at Ponsonby, that they were injurious to health to an extemt, and were a predisposing cause of disease. Replying to another que& tion, Dr. Dawhon agreed with Dr. Knight that the exhausted condition of a man returning from his day's labour was a predisposing cause of disease. There were a variety of causes of typhoid, all concentrating on one spot. The Mayor said tho next evening they would meet the Hospital Board at 7.30 o'clock.