EPIDEMIC COMMISSION.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 March 1919, Page 8

EPIDEMIC COMMISSION.

HEALTH OFFICER'S EVIDENCE, By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, March 11. Giving evidence before the Influenza Commission Dr. Watt said that, by analogy with other infectious diseases, lie would say that convalescent influenza patients who were allowed to go ashore at Auckland were probably carriers. Assuming a case from the Niagara had been suffering from a virulent form of influenza, he would certainly have recommended quarantine for a week and, even that period, could not be said k> provide an absolute margin of safely. There was no evidence that quarantine was totally effective, but it would be foolish to neglect it as a matter nf precaution. He knew of no country, with the possible exception of Australia, which had adopted quarantine against influenza. The use of the inhalation chamber on a vessel with eases on board would minimise the risk of infection by carriers, but it was impossible to say that it would altogether obviate it. Lieutenant-Colonel Makgill, continuing his evidence given in Auckland, inferred to the protection following attacks, with special reference to the military camps.

At Trentham the P.M.O. found that rases which had suffered during the earlier wave did not suffer in the second to any extent. At Narrow Neck and Awapuni the first attack did not confer immunity from a second. At Featherston the P.M.O. reported that those who had suffered from four to six' weeks before had escaped lightly in the second epidemic. It was generally evident that partial immuruty was established for pome weeks. The point was of importance since by the existence or absence of such ini)Tfii! ; ty one could judge as to the vali;c of Die use of vaccine. The fact that they.' was n degree of immunity confer™! by the first epidemic established clso the bacteriological identity of the two '-vit'irrsks. They differed only in degree of virulence. No one could doubt that, complete, isolation W'.iuH protect a community In this connexion he referred to the freedom from infection of the German internment, camps in New Zealad. '•"'oewMe i«ol.itior; was however extremely rliflficult. since the dispose was of so ir-sidb'is a character that anyone developing catarrh would have to be isolated us ;■. ""ssible harborer of the more scriiO".! ;r,f'..ct.ii<n. '!',!.-• "■<•:■("■ :"n"r> of the camps had been in fa •■or of inhaia'-ion as •• means of eop'Tv" with ali catarrhal iriFpflion of ('];> ivisa! pharyn::, especially in the case of H'-jr-lcs. The pbser.ee of diphtheria in -.;■.» rop during the past two years, despite the existence of a widespread cpi- : lieru'-. "'jv.o'-'gsi. the civil population, was j :.igr,',:"cai;!. :\- was also the fact that • since it■•■ ndnption measles bad been kept I in check and since Ihe systematic use jm" 'mhahitinn chambers on troopships there bad been a lessened incidence of severe infection.