A NEW DISEASE.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1919, Page 6

A NEW DISEASE.

THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUSY. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Regarding the new disease, lethargic encephalitis, the Minister of Health s.aid to-day that the Department had been watching indications of it ever since the beginning of the month. On the Ist of the month' Dr. Watt, District Health Officer at Wellington, forwarded a report to the Chief Health Officer, and on May S Dr. Chesson, District; Health Officer at Christchurch, sent a report concerning a case at Akaroa. It had now been determined to declare the disease notifiable, and the necessary steps had been taken. The Department is issuing a bulletin for inhalation to hospital boards, medical superintendents, and the medical profession generally, containing information from one of the reports of the British Health Department. The infectivety of the disease is low. There are two or three suspicious cases in Wellington hospital. The symptoms, axe apt to lead toconfusion with cerebro»spinal meningitis; in fact, the first cases reported were notified as "C.S.M., diagnosis uncertain." The disease wotrld appear to bear somerelation to infantile "paralysis. It is alsoprobable that it is- a first cousin to» tbfe mysterious "X" disease, reported im Australia last year; if it is,', nafc the* same sickness.

Dr. Watt, District Health- Officer, this' corning said that apparently the diseases, had often been associated! with influenzal* outbreaks. The earliest outbreak ofj which there was any record! was about! 1712, at Tubingen, in Germany, when itf went under -the name of sleeping sick-< ness. After the 1889-90 pandemic of' influenza, in 1890 there were outbreaks of what was, apparently, the same disease in Northern Italy and Hungary. The disease' was then known as "nona," apparently a popular corruption of coma. Cases were reported in England last year. Firyt of all it was believed to be poisoning, and was called botulismus, as it was thought to be due to the bacidulus botulinus, found in pork sausages;, etc. Later, inquiry and research showed that this was not the case. A cable message from America a week ago stated that the sleeping sickness was prevalent there. There is no record from England of many cases being met with there. The sickness is infectious, but no cases have been reported of more than one member of a household being affected in England. The degree of mortality was not high.