FEVER AT CROMWELL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 356, 16 May 1874, Page 3

FEVER AT CROMWELL.

From the report of Dr. Coughtrey's visit to Cromwell appearing in the "Argus," that gentleman states that he had no doubt at all that the character of the fever which has been so severe at Cromwell was typhoid, and that of a pure type ; while there could be as little douot that it arose from the bad sanitary condition of the town. He had gone carefully into the matter, seeing everything for himself ; allowing himself to be influenced in no wise by the opinions of others And he was sorry to say that things from a sanitary point of view were in a deplorable condition. The drainage andgwater supply were matters needing immediate attention. |An examination into these matters showed him facts and circumstances inj connection with them that ought not to exist. All along the course of the water-race)) supplying the town, he found closets above its level ; and in one instance a privy was really within two feet of the race. The earth was of an exceedingly porous nature, and the matter from privies wormed its way into the water-race from which the town was supplied. Then the tanks put in at different parts of the race by private parties were in a very dilapidated and unsatisfactory state. From the side of one of these he could positively scrape horse or cow manure. Others were nearly as bad; the lids were broken and make-shifts made which allowed all kinds of filth and rubbish to get into the tanks. The race at a Chinese garden outside the town also recieved a quantity of deleterious matter ; and generally along its whole course it was open to all kinds of impurities. The water, however, was not the primary cause of the epidemic, but no doubt helped it on. The drainage was what he would most particularly call attention to. From most of the houses the sewage ran underneath the building, thence into a gutter running alongside, thence across the pavement into the open street-gutter, and thence down to the bridge. Along the bank of the Kawarau, the soil was full of animal matter ; and the infiltration had gone, and to such an extent, that the soil was now overcharged, and could deodorise no more. In one place on the bank, he saw sheepbones and offal, which had no doubt been thrown there when the flesh was on them. Typhoid fever was fostered by conditions of this nature. No single place in the town, he believed he was correct in saying, contained any privy accomodation except of a cesspool nature, and all excrement and such fetid matter soaked into the ground. If these were cleaned out, the matter was thrown down the bank, or perhaps buried, in as close and convenient a spot as possible. This kind of thing had been allowed to go on, and the result was the breaking out of an epidemic. '1 he general term for typhiod was autumnal or cesspool fever. It generated from effluvia and filth, in the first instance ; and no doubt spread by being carried from one part of the town to another in the clothes of persons and so on. The fever wan not brought into the town ; he Had made inquiries, and could find nothingto warrant that opinion. It arose spontaneously, became contagious, and so spread. It had existed more or less for three years in the district, and had always been more violent in the autumn, that is in March, April, and May. He would speak of it more fully in his report of course, but would now give a few hints as to how it might be abated, and its return prevented. He believed the council had a set of byelaws in existence, but through some legal informality, -they could not be put into operation. Something should be done to this end at once. The inhabitants must resort to earth-closets ; that was imperative. There was sure to be a return of the epidemic else. Uhe earth used should be of a loamy nature, and the boxes should be cleared frequently. It would be almost necessary to employ a man to see that those directions were fully carried out. Everywhere about the town, he saw a great quantity of rubbish ; old cloth, straw ,old boots, and so forth. This should be all collected, and burnt. The excrement of the sick and their linen should all be burnt at some distance- from the town ; beyond the cemetery, for instance. The water used by the town should be purified. Another assisting cause of the fever, he might mention, was the dryness of the climate. A French Commission, in 1845. appointed to inquire into the causes of a very severe typhoid epidemic v/hich had swept over France, noted that in dry weather typhod was more markedly prevalent. If there were plenty of rain. Boaking the ground and causing the growth of plants, Nature had a change to relieve herself. It was a theory in regard to the origin of cholera and other diseases that excrement and such matter, being thrown out becomes dry and is carried in the air, giving rise to an immense amount of disease.

Dr. Coughtrey concluded by saying that he would be awanting in his duty if he failed to give expression to his opinion that proper steps had not been taken by the Corporation to avert or remove the source of disease. Piggeries and slaughteryards should have been removed, and the water-race cleared out long ago. Cromwell was not alone in its suffering from this epidemic ; Auckland was affected in a similar way, and well deserved to be so.