BEPT. 24, 1921]
BALTIO INTERNATIONAL CHOLERA CONFERENCE.
His address is so full of biological meat that it is difficult to make a selection from the mass of original thoughts he presents there, but to comment on all would mean an article longer than the lecture itself. I will therefore be content with one more reference, and this to a point of nomenclature. The word "vitamine" has for long stunk in the nostrils of the chemist. The loss of the final "e" has deprived it of much of its sting, but Professor Armstrong profera to get rid of it altogether, and proposes in its place the word advitant. If only its coiner had been the first in the field Vitamin is now, one fears, firmly rooted; one oan only regret the difficulty there always is in uprooting these ill-advised expressions; still, if such be possible, advilant as a substitute appeara free from all objection.
W. D. HALLIBURTON.
THE BALTIC INTERNATIONAL CHOLERA CONFERENCE.
It appears that conditions in Russia are reaching a point that may have serious effects upon the health of Europe. One of the most productive districts of Russia, formerly the granary beth for that country and for Europe, has been atricken by drought, which has destroyed the crops and reduced the Russian people to a state of famine. An emigration that is almost a panic bas started, we are told, from the famine districts, and the horrors of the flight of those starring people have been increased owing to the fact that such diseases as cholera, typhoid fever, and scurvy continue to follow them. The districts from which the emigration started are stated to be already so affected by cholers that combative measures are impossible in present circumstances. The cholera epidemic is gradually spreading over the country, and the rest of Europe is faced with the danger of cholera. The three Baltic states, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuacis, have decided, therefore, to assume the responsibility of making a sanitary cordon against the spread of the disease. A Baitio conference was suggested by Lieut.-Colonel Edward W. Ryan, M.D., the American Red Cross Commissioner to Western Russia and the Baltic statos, and this conference was held in Riga from July 25th to 27th under his honorary presidency, with the Assistant Director of the Latvian Health Department, Dr. Kivitzki, în the chair. Dr. R. Adelheim of the University of Riga has prepared a report of the deliberations of this conference, which has been forwarded to us at his request by Colonel Ryan.
The conference agreed to adhere to the Parls Conven- tion of 1903-1911, and it was decided to consider the decrees of the Convention of Paris as binding for the three Baltic states, and to induce the representative Foreign Omces to tako the necessary steps for their formal adher- ence to the Convention. As regards relations with Russia, the conference found that no official records on the cholera epidemic had reached the Governments of the three Baltic states, but that nevertheless official papers in Russia did not deny the existence of cholera. Owing to diplomatio dificulties the conference refrained from declaring imme- diately that Russia was affected by cholera, bat agreed to the request of the respective Governments to apply to the Soviet Government for immediate information on the question. The Esthonlan representative said that his Government had some time ago applied to Russia for this information, but no reply had yet been received. Should, however, the reply of the Soviet Government to the inquiries of the conference not be received in the near fufore the Baltic states would of necessity proclaim Russia as an infections country, and this decision would be followed by a strengthened frontier protection. It was agreed by the conference that whatever the reply of the Soviet Government should be, provided it contained con firmation of the existence of the epidemic, the whole of Rusafa was to be declared as infected by cholers and action taken according to Article 8 of the Convention.
The further work of the conference consisted in dealing with the internal measures to be taken against cholers, and unanimous agreement was reached on this subject. A restriction of railway traffic was found to be necessary in order that the health departments might confine the right of railway travel to such persons only as could show a cortificate of health issued by the local authorities. Compulsory vaccination against cholera was not provided for as an invariable rule, but the medical officer in charge was authorized to apply compulsion should circumstances
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call for such action. The question of preventivo measures on the adjacent frontiers was further dealt with, and it was agreed that there should be no interruption of trade and traffic, and therefore no frontier closing. The medical staff in a border zone twenty kilometres wide were to report mutually, through the frontier authorities, all cliolera, cases which occurred,
In order to co-ordinate the work of the three Baltic states it was decided that their bacteriological institutes should exchange as frequently as possible their epidemiological and bacteriological observations: The Governments of the Baltic states were requested to convoke periodical sanitary conferences and to form a permanent central bureau of representatives of the three states with the duty of examining health conditions. During the dis- cussion the hope was expressed that this bureau might gradually grow into an Eastern Europe international seoltary board. As regards the measures to be taken in harbours, these were in conformity with those pro- vided for in the Convention of Paris, Latvia establishing two observation points on the river Dwina in order to lock up the timber rafting, and similar measures were to be undertaken by the other states.
As soon as Russia should be definitely declared to be infected by cholera it was agreed to apply a strengthened military frontier protection, the three States closing their frontier with Russia; the exchange stations for flax and salt were also to be closed, as well as the other transit stations, with the exception of certain notified border stations. Should a chole:& cas0 occur in a train all passengers were to be considered as contagious, and kept under supervision for a definite period. Infected refugee transports were expected to arrive within a short time at the border stations, and it would be necessary to submit these refugees to observation in quarantine stations before they set off for other places. The position of Latvia was especially hard in this respect, as Lithuanian refugeen would also pasa through Latvian territory on their way home. Latvia possessed only one quarantine station, with accommodation at present for 2,500 to 3,000 people, and not only would it be necessary to enlarge this quarantine station, but another still larger had to be established. A shortage was reported in essential equipment such as beds. bedding, bacteriological apparatus and Instruments. It was decided by the conference to request the aid of the American Red Cross in organizing Europeau relief work, so that the first wall against cholera should not ba in danger of collapse, and the infection spread from the harbours and the borders of the Baltic states throughout the world.
THE WEST INDIAN MEDICAL CONFERENCE. THE West Indian Medical Conference, which was held at Georgetown, British Guiana, from June 28th to July 13th, was the second medical conference ever held in the West Indies, the first being the Quarantine Conference of 1904. The delegates to the Conference were: From Barbados, Dr. Jolin Hutson, O.B.E., Public Health Inspector: from British Guiana, Dr. E. P. Minett, Government M.O.H.; from Trinidad, Dr. John Dickson, Deputy Surgeon-General; from Grenada, Dr. G. W. Paterson, Colonial Surgeon; from St. Lucia, Major H. E. Sutherland Richards, M.C., Chief Medical Officer; from Jamaica, Dr. E. D. Gideon, District Medical Offleer. The London School of Tropical Medicine was represented by Professor R. T. Leiper, and Dr. John Anderson, of the Filariasis Commission. A representative from Dutch Guiana was also present in the person of Dr. J. Wolff, Government Bacteriologist of Surinam. The Conference was one of Government medical officers, called at the request of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and was of an official character. Unfortunately, the colonies of British Honduras, the Bahamas, the Leeward Islands, St. Vincent, and Bermuda, were not represented. His Excellency the Hon. Cecil Clementi, C.M.G., the Acting Governor, presided, and the two vice-presidents were Professor R. T. Leiper and Dr. W. G. Boaso, Acting Surgeon-General of British Guiana. Dr. E. P. Minett, Medical Officer of Health for British Guiana, acted as secretary of the Conference.
In his opening address the Acting Governor said that the most fundamental questions in every community were, gould the inhabitants of the country be kept in good health? and did the population show your by year a natural increment? If these quastions could be answered in the firmative, the community was sound at the core; if the
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