TUBERCULOSIS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 306, 22 December 1908, Page 4

TUBERCULOSIS.

ARTICLE BY 1)11, MASON. INSPECTION OF SCHOOL CIIILDKEN. As une of a select company, Dr. .Mason, Chief Health Officer for the Dominion, contributes ail article to "Tuberculosis in infancy and Childhood," a work just issued, which comprises essays by some of the highest medical experts in the world. Dr. T. N. Keiynack is the editor, and Dr. Calmcttc, of Lille, author of the latest tuberculin test ; Dr. Harwell, London ; Sir Join Hyers, Belfast; and other British, European, and American notables are among the forty other contributions. In the course of his article, Dr. Vinson says : —"One disquieting featur which our vital statistics clearly set out is that of the total number of persons wiio died last year from tuberculosis (>1 per cent were New Zealand bom. This at lirst sight seems a complete answer In those who assert that if we could keep out all persons suffering from consumption from oversea our death-rate would fall to a very low figure, it bus to be remembered, however, that a very large proportion of our population are not New Zoalanders bom, and therefore a correction lias to be made in order that- a true estimate of the vulnerability of the New Zealand born towards tubercle can be arrived at. When this correction is made it is shown that in with those now living in tin Dominion, but who were born elsewhere, the product of the soil, so to-speak, has a greater power of resistance. Tho Census of 1 HO*> showed that tlic New Zealand-born formed 08 per cent, of the population, so that we have a deathrate from phthisis amongst them of s.r»] .per cent., as against a general j death-rate of 0.21 per cent. This is what one might expect ; but still tho fact that 01 per cent of those who wert born in the Dominion died of consumption in 1906 is one which has occasional concern.

*'We have 110 general system of medical inspect-in;] of school children, but i am in hop* that soon a scheme. whic'i has been outlined, considered., and generally approved by the medical and teaching professions, will take actual form. Willi an area equal to England.. Scotland, and Wales, and a population of scarcely 1.000,001) people, it is easy to see that to canv out the elaborate system practised in some of the older countries would be impossible from a liiiam-ial point ■of view. Roughly speaking. we have some 127.000 children attending our State schools, and if we assume that about 10 per cent, of them are below par in physical health, this would leave, say, 11,430 children who would require careful medical assessment. .My idea is to enlist the sympathy of our teachers, and aslt them to 1 note any child, the subject of definite malnutrition, manifesting marked langour or stupidity, having a persistent- | ly -open mouth, and who shows any doted in eyesight or hearing and so om It is 'not expected that the teacher should attempt to make any diagnosis : simply place a mark against the chilli's name and hand the list to the medical inspector when he visits the school. Sush a system would, of course, fall far behind in its completeness those 'practised in Britain, America, and the Continent, hut it seems to me that it would help greatly hi chucking file incidence of tuberculosis and other diseases in the early years of life." J a ■conclusion, Dr. Mason says, of the Health Department's work in this 'country : " Kvery opportunity is lak-n to point out how disease is spread, and how infection may be guarded against, and J. am glad to say the people generally are coining to look upon the Otlicers of the Health Department more in the light of counsellors than inspec tors whose advice and commands are to be evaded.' 5