Tb Conference

Fifteen Nations

Attend

WHILE the war against tuberculosis in Australia and New Zealand is being won, the disease remains a frightening menace to the well-being of whole communities in the Pacific Islands and elsewhere.

This _f a ct lent special interests to the Asian-Pacific Tuberculosis Con ference held at Sydney in August.

Opening the conference, which was attended by 200 delegates from 15 countries, the Australian Federal Minister for Health (Sir Earle Page) said that Australia’s neighbours well reduce tuberculosis deaths by using Australian anti-TB methods. These methods had re duced the TB deathrate by 50 per cent, in the last five years.

The object of the conference was to stimulate knowledge of and TB in countries where disease presents alarming problems.

In some Pacific territories, such as New Guinea, an all-out effort is bemg made to bring the scourge under control. In others, the effort, although needed with equal urgency, is less apparent.

Fiji’s delegate to the conference was AMP Macu Salato, who has had a notable career in the Colony’s medical service and in the

Solomons. Since the conference he has been joined by his family from Fiji and plans to spend eight months’ vacation leave in Aus tralia.

Although an anti-TB campaign was started as a war memorial in Fiji in 1949, the disease is still the greatest health problem of the Colony, and particularly of the indigenous Fijians.

U Mr. L. J. Wright, of Aucklas has been appointed Officer Charge, Nauru Radio, in success to Mr. G. Davies, of Sydney, v has resigned. Mr. Wright was cently radio officer in the tra.

Tasman freighter Ken Waihi e earlier was radio officer in B Matua on the Auckland-Islai service.