I desire to ask the Minister for Local Government whether he has been officially informed of an outbreak of typhus fever in the barony of Erris, county Mayo, and if he would state what steps he has taken to cope with the disease since it made its appearance.
DÁIL RESUMED. - TYPHUS IN THE WEST.
In the middle of last June cases of typhus fever came to be reported to the Minister for Local Government by the medical officers of health in Belmullet, and have continued at intervals over the intervening period. In all about twenty cases have come under notice, including the sanitary subofficer, who contracted the infection in the discharge of his duties, and one of the nursing sisters who nursed the patients in the local hospital. The source of the disease has been attributed to crowding in a disused coastguard station, in which families took up their abodes and deserted their own homes. Belmullet has long been recognised as a district in which typhus may be said to be endemic. The population is very poor, living in small and congested homes, with primitive habits, and the practice of housing animals in dwellings still persists. The normal disadvantages of the district have been aggravated by the unsettled conditions of the present time, and sanitary administration is being carried on in the area under the gravest disadvantages. As soon as communications permitted, the district was visited by an Inspector of the Ministry, who reported on the immediate needs of the situation. Subsequently a medical inspector was despatched to the district on two occasions to render such advice and assistance as might be needed. The other action taken by the Ministry may be summarised thus:—
(1) The despatch of an additional medical officer to aid the local medical staff in attendance on the sick and in preventive measures.
(2) The despatch, in conjunction with the Lady Dudley Nursing Organisation, of two trained and experienced nurses for the care of fever patients.
(3) The despatch of equipment for six beds in the local hospital.
The most recent information received by the Ministry is that there are no fever cases at present in the district, excepting two contacts who are under observation in hospital.