A NEW AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL

1195

summer and autumn epidemics ; school closure for Bthe summer holiday did not account for the cessation Iof epidemics in August and their recrudescence in

IOctober, which were characteristic features of theyears under review. Analysis of notification recordsand of the after-histories of contacts suggested thata certain proportion, possibly a quarter to a third,of children born retain an inherent immunity tochicken-pox, and that latent immunisation protectsothers-possibly another quarter. The ratio oflatent to clinical cases was not likely to be greaterthan about one to two, but Dr. Stocks considers itnecessary to analyse more data before this can beasserted with confidence. The St. Pancras recordsof German measles when examined by the firstmethod seemed to show that, as in measles,latent immunisation is a controlling factor, butfurther work was also required here. In submittingthese preliminary results Dr. Stocks urged the import-ance of preserving the original notification records,especially of those diseases which are only notifiablein a few areas, for useful advances in our knowledgeof the mechanism of epidemics might follow a properstatistical treatment of these records over a series ofyears.

____

A NEW AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL.

LTHE new School of Public Health and TropicalMedicine in Sydney, which is shown in the accompany-ing illustration, was opened on March 6th by theHon. Frank Anstey, Minister for Health for theCommonwealth of Australia. It will carry on the

t diploma of education, and of tropical hygiene in thediploma of anthropology. The courses for the diplomain public health and for the diploma in tropicalmedicine have already been commenced, and a

diploma of tropical hygiene is contemplated. Alibrary to deal with public health and tropical medi-cine is being built up from a nucleus, previouslyexisting at Townsville, which it is hoped will becomplete in all Australian aspects.

REGISTER OF BIOPHYSICAL ASSISTANTS.

THE first register of biophysical assistants publishedby the Society of Apothecaries of London containsthe names of 463 persons, arranged both alpha-betically and topographically, who have been given adiploma by the Society. This first batch of diplomateshave been admitted without examination, havingoffered satisfactory evidence of experience extendingover two years in a hospital or three years in

private practice in administering physicotherapyunder medical supervision. The conditions underwhich the diploma is held involve an undertakingthat biophysical assistants will not undertake thetreatment of any patient except under the directionand control of a doctor, that they will not advertisein a professional sense except in the recognisedmedical and nursing papers, will not sell goods topatients in a professional capacity, or accept secretcommissions on the sale of goods. Their diplomasare returnable to the Society of Apothecaries ifthese regulations are contravened. In the future,

School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney.

work of the School of Tropical Medicine which hasbeen in existence since 1907 at Townsville, and itsinauguration follows a recommendation made by aRoyal Commission of Health, which issued its reportin January, 1926. The commission proposed that achair of preventive medicine should be established withan adequate department of tropical hygiene, and thatthe University of Sydney should be selected for thispurpose. It also recommended that a feature of thework should be a collection and condensation of therecords of the medical administration of the PacificIslands. The school is housed in its own buildingwithin the university grounds, close to the medicalschool. Erected at a cost of 635,000, it provides fordepartments of parasitology, entomology, bacterio-logy, pathology, and chemistry, whilst sections dealingwith physiology, industrial hygiene, epidemiology,vital statistics and sanitary engineering are contem-plated. The school will be under the control of a

council composed of representatives of the Common-wealth Government and the University of Sydney.Dr. Harvey Sutton has been appointed director. Itwill provide especially for the post-graduate trainingof public health personnel, but will also includespecial non-medical courses of school hygiene in the ’,

recruitment to the register will take place by examina-tions, of which the first is to be held next month.The course of training is to extend over 18 months,of which at least 12 months shall be occupied inclinical instruction. The syllabus for Part I. includesanatomy, physiology and physics, and for Part II. thetheoretical principles concerned with electricity, thevarious types of current used in medicine, radiantheat, light therapy, and medical diathermy. Charteredmasseurs and masseuses will be exempt from Part I.,and members of the Chartered Society of Massageand Medical Gymnastics who hold the Society’scertificates in medical electricity will be admitted tothe register of biophysical assistants on signing thenecessary undertaking and paying the required fee.The establishment of the register arose out of a

suggestion made to the Society of Apothecaries ofLondon by a committee of the British MedicalAssociation, following a resolution by the Represen-tative Body, who were concerned for the protectionof the public from the risks of physical treatment byuntrained persons. The need for qualified technicianshas become an urgent problem since the popularityof rays of different wave-lengths has reached andeven overtaken that of electric currents. The