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10
It is gratifying to note that the public are beginning to take some practical
interest in the direction of the suppression of tuberculosis. They are slowly
realising that the disease is a preventable one, and in my view it is desirable
that in the near future it should be classified as an infectious disease to which
the notification sections of the Public Health Acts apply.
No consideration of a political character, if such exist, should be allowed to
stand in the way of the adoption of remedial measures in a case of such
national importance as the prevention of tuberculosis.
Societies for the suppression of this scourge doubtless have their uses, but
also their limitations. The patent fact that from 8 to 9 per cent. (see
page 34) of the milk sold in this country contains the living organism of
the disease imperatively demands more active measures being taken than the
introduction of a Bill at the end of a session, and the issue of an order by the
Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, which remains inoperative.
There is no reason why the Tuberculosis Order of 1909 here referred to
should not come into force at once. The enforcement of its provisions will be
of immense value, and it can only be regarded as a grave neglect of the public
interests if its issue is withheld, especially as it is the deliberate and formed
view of those best entitled to express an opinion upon the subject, that "a
very considerable amount of disease and loss of life, especially among the
young, must be attributed to the use of cow's milk containing tubercle
bacilli."* Any further delay, therefore, in dealing with the matter can only
be considered inexcusable in a civilised community.
Since I have held my present office I have aimed unceasingly at directing
your attention to the unsatisfactory condition of milk supplies, and urged the
importance of seeking for a remedy at the source of the evil. Commence with
the cow and eradicate the disease from every herd in the country. This, in my
opinion, is the only solution of the milk theory of the spread of tuberculosis.
This is a national question and therefore requires general legislation. Attempts
to deal with it locally are to be deprecated. Piecemeal legislation is mischievous,
as tending to concentrate the evil in particular districts. It is obviously
anomalous that the inhabitants of a town or district should, by special legislation,
be granted protection withheld from, and to the detriment of, others.
It is to be feared that matters connected with the public health will
be neglected or treated as of minor importance in the councils of the nation
until the creation of a Minister of Public Health is advocated by all parties.
Another source of infection is dealt with on p. 28, where attention is
directed to the danger arising from the habit of indiscriminate spitting in
public places and especially on the footways. It is generally admitted that
the practice of spitting in railway carriages and other public conveyances is
* Second Interim Report of he Royal Commission on Tuberculosis, January, 1907.