Medical Congress

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 194, 14 February 1914, Page 5

Medical Congress

tiii: ■ ri'xij-, puo<. , i;edin<;s. "MESSAWIJ'TO THExJCsV;. By TelßgiUfft—-Press Assoclition. ' Auckland, Last Night. The Aledieul (.'oilgrcis iiractically concluded to-day. In .!< knowlcdjrmciit of tin* from tlw .Upvernnient, a lengthy «it:Solujli<)ii w^iivf or% nidgd lo the (»o»ernOi\ w-Ho on Med it -to the Home Secretary. The resolution stated that the moms e\pre>ised in the message haw lieen veil' giatcfully received by the members of the Congress 1 , who sincerely hope tti.it the outcome ot the workdiue at the pie«-cnt session of the Congress will in kiraip incisure helvi HW Majesty's mibjwN m AuALrnlia, in udievliig.''tllclr Kiifleinifjs, piomotni" their welfare, a»d in prolonging their lives. To-morrow there will be a final meeting of the Congress in the morning at 9 a.m., and at 11.30 a special train will take tlm visitors to Rotoiua. A RARE/'DISEASE. '

In a sboit psper before tho section of bacteriologv, r paihologv and tropical medicine this mornine, Prof. Ghamptaliiup, of the Ot.i»o University, gave an account "of an ' interesting discovery of sporotriehoM" which causes tuberculosis of the kidney, and which was made in Auckland by Mr Armitage. It was the first case of the kind in New Zealand, and it i* eUremely rare ehawhere. Tt is thought the condition is possibly due lo eatin" decayed fruit on which the fungus occurs. THE DANGER OP HYDATIDS.

In the eourse of a paper on "Hydatid Disease," Dr. L. E. Rarnctt, of Diinedin, drew attention to the yearly loss Jij flctint) monev renullinv through the prevalence of the complaint, find emphasised the necessity for paign by the (Joveinment, so that farmer* and others could be fully annrised of ;thc importance of measures for cafpfcing its spread. It was advocated fijjat. prominent "lat-ards should be placed, StF' : the railway stations, in the schools and other places of "üblie assemblage, issuing a warning against the feeding of dugs on raw meat, on similar lines to what had; been done in the Argentine,. It was stated that the "disease was more prevalent in the South Island than the North Island, and an estimate was submilted that; if ;Uui dißeaso; was reduced by., half, the annual saving in loss in alone would he £12,500. A computation made placed the .loss on rejected meat, because of hydatids, during thq past ten Tears .at a\j value of fiqp.ooo. Si the course of discussion, in which ,_'ral doctor* took part, Dr. Staple)' declared that a great deal of the disease was to be found in anv of th« abattoirs in ijNcw Zealand, and that dogs should bejvigilantly kept away from such promiles to avoid the vc.id of hydatids by feeding on the offal. EYE DISORDERS.

At the meeting in the opthalmology section, a'paper was read by Dr. Lindo Ferguson, of Dunedin, on "An'Undescribed Pimillarr," and in the course of a discussioVo'n the causes and origins of eye disorders in women, 0110 of the speakers, a doctor whose word carries considerable. wei?ht,_ incidentally, imt. seriously,''kooke a word of warning' about;the Imposition of heavy mental and eye strain on oung. women by the demands of our General education system, with the tjdditioij'of-musiSexaniiinSl; atiossL "I w,int s t<i' : saf the doctor, "what T have on several occasions said beforey that -while the strain of our educational system pn "rowing girls does great harm to man'v of tlhenry tlie additional strain of preparation,, for musical exiuiuua4ioji#' is'jlisa=stfl>iw '0 its results! ami sT&iiMMiot.*e lJKrmilSted. , - , . ; * RICKETS IN CHILDREN. j ;ss A most interesting imber was sivht mitted by Dr. Harvey BUtton„of Met bourne, on the important question of "Rickets in Home Life." The writer's conclusion, after the examination of many school children, was that a large, number were weedy and showed signs of rickets. Upon investigation of "the case's he came:• to the decision that they were-* due to improper feeding in infancy. The doctor stated he found that those who had been; breast-fed for nine' or. ten months practically remained healthy and strong. 4n.s»ftpr-iife< ..Those*, however, who months, showed a percentage 'of rickets! jlhis he explained to be due to thc;iact that in the case of infants breastfed for t.jjsy shorter, period the mothers some.proprietarv food.; Bottlc-fetl bjubics also suffered from rickets, the exception to these being when infants, who Lad never been brcasWed, had received food under medica} advice, and that consisted of some form of eow's'jnilk. ■."'•' '-■■' vMENTALi^ISORDERS.

During the discussion pn the subject | of the necessity for early treatment in cane* of mental disorder >t was stated tho practice at present in hospitals was to get rid of these patients to a receiving house, or asylum, as Soon as pos?ible. Yet those cam could .very often, be easily tieatcd-'as 'hospital patic-nts and the pain avoided. The hpspit.il clinic liould also he most valuable for "the training of,students. At present the, medical men generally knew appallingly little about mental rti,sca~a and its treatment, especially in earlv cases. Students had now norf'une.toiilv to attend certain classes at more or U«S; They did TiOt i)(.i' liinnv eurlv eases, and pot little m«ii(Hit into their appropriate treatment. \ Hospital clinics would change that altogether. On the motion of Dr. R. M._ Boattie (Auckland), seconded by Dr. Sfule~'(McKJ bourse), it was agreed:. "That .the section of psychological medicine iand-lieu*-: rology is strongly of opinion that the lime has arrived when the ea"rly treatment of mental disorder should be undertaken in general hospitals, in speci-ally-provided wards.. Attached to, and separate from, the general waTds of the ho-pitals. and for this purpose a epeci-ully-traincd assistant should be appointed to the hospitals."