SUMMER DISEASES.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 October 1919, Page 6

SUMMER DISEASES.

DANGERS FROM THE HOUSE FLY. The' dangers of certain diseases prevalent in the summer and the steps necessary to combat them were touched on by Mr. M. Fraser (chairman of the Hospital Board) in an address before the New Plymouth branch of the New Zealand Labor Party in the Good Templar Hall last night. Mr. Faser said that every summer brought us diseases of one kind or another, which became very prevalent, particularly diphtheria, and there could be no doubt that the common house fly was largely responsible for this very dangerous malady. He emphasised the dangers which the house fly carried into every home,' and showed how its contact with food directly led to illness. Particular care should be exercised that all food was sterilised. The ordinary process of cooking did this with most foods, but there was an ever-present danger in milk and water, which, if not sterilised, often provided a source of infection. The present was the time of the year when everyone should at once start a campaign against the house fly and carry out a ruthless crusade before the flies became too numerous. A widespread recognition that the fly was at the bottom of the evil and a determination on the part of housewives to light the .evil would do much to minimise the spread- of these diseases which may be expected with the summer. Last summer, continued Mr. Fraser, I the isolation wards at the New Plymouth I Hospital were always full, while there | were over 5000 cases of infectious disease ill at one time. Less than 20 jte&rs ago 75 per cent, of the children who contracted these diseases would have died, but so great was the progress that the medical profession had made in dealing with these epidemics that the deathrate now was only 1 per cent. Mr. Fraser went on to explain how treatment was carried out, emphasising the wonderful results following serum treatment, which, he said, was always successful if the cases were taken in time. Mr. Fraser proceeded to give a very interesting account of the work of the New Plymouth Hospital, and he explained the functions of the board in extending charitable aid. An interesting fact mentioned by Mr. Fraser was that last year, when the population of the Dominion was set down at 1,103,026, the greatest number of people treated in all the hospitals was 40,232 for jthe whole year. The greatest number orf patients in hospital on one day was 3190, being 2.85 per 1000.