INFLUENZA.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16507, 26 April 1919, Page 9

INFLUENZA.

VANCOUVER PASSENGERS. (By Cable.—Prees Association.— -Copyright ) (Australian and Cnblo Association.) SYDNEY, April 20. As a result of the New Zealand quarantine restrictions, tho Union Company has decided to send passengers for Vancouver direct to Suva, whero they will connect with the Vancouver steamer. DEATHS NUMBER 777. April 25th. 10.20 p.m.) SYDNEY. April 23. Official figures show that tho deaths from influenza in New South Wales since January Ist total 77/—al6 male? and 261 females. THE EPIDEMIcTcOMMISSION. i Tho Hon. G. W. Russell. Minister ot Public Health, stated last night that ho had received a request from the Influenza- Epidemic Commission for an extension of time for tho completion oi tho full report, and the request would be forwarded to the Acting-Prime Minister with ii view to granting the extension. QUARANTINE STATIONS. STATEMENT BY THE HON. G. AY. RUSSELL. Speaking to a. "Press" reporter yesterday, tho Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister of Public Health, said that ho had noticed that "Tho Press ,, had recently criticised—and not unfairly—th« position at the- Government quarantine stations. Criticisms had also been published throughout tho Dominion, bub ho was not yet in a position to make a full statement regarding the matter. "I regret." said the Minister, "that thero should have been complaints iuade» by the passengers in tho Niagara, as to their accommodation, and that there should bo ground for their complaints. More than that, I do not care to say at present. A fow days ago I called on tho Chief Health Ollicer for a report regarding the quarantino stations, which were ordered in the middle if December, 1918, to bo immediately extended. "When I asked for a report at the beginning of this week as to the position, I learned that it would still he two months before Motuihi was extended, and one month beforo tho work ordered was completed at Soanies Island. As I understand tho difficulty is ono of obtaining a sufficient supply of labour, I hnve permission, with the consent of the Minister of Public Works, to try and get an adosjuate supply of labour for tho Auckland district, and this I trust will materially hasten tho building of the needed accommodation. "With regard to Quail Island, I may Bay that this has been for many yenrs used by tho Agricultural Departmont as a stock quarantine station, and for tho housing of lepsrs. A roport received Bomo time ago on the island showed that it would be impossible to make any largo \isc of it for quarantine purposes. Recent events havo shown the necessity of tho buildings being brought into a sufficient stato of efficiency to deal with tho cases off coastal steamers and local cases, which may arrive from -the sea. Dr. McGill is at present in Christchurqh, and I havo requested him to inspect Quail Island and to extend it for the purpose- stated. Ther renson for concentrating on the two North Island quarantino stations and extending them, is that tho, port of Lytteltou is not usually ono of arrival for oversea steamers." SHIPPING SERVICE WITH AUSTRALIA. ARRANGEMENTS FOR PRATIQUE. Tile Director of Quarantine at Melbourne has cabled to tho New Zealand Government that vessels from Now Zoaland nro now admitted to pratique ;«i Australia on production of a certificate from tho principal health, authority at the last port of departure, stating that all persons have been'examined, including the crow, and temperatures taken, and that no influenza or suspicious illness was on board at the time of departure. Admission to pratique is also subject to quarantine inspection, and the release of the passengers tind crew subject to three days' daily surveillance.

Tho Hon. G. W. Russell. Ministor of. Public Health, who made these facts public last night, Btated that in the ordinary course of events no inspection of vessels leaving Now Zealand took" placo regarding the health of those on. board, but in view of tho' present position the Chief Health Officer (Dr. Valintine) had now arranged that tho various health officers at the principal ports of doparturo of oversea vessels, and port health officers also, should make an inspection of passengers and crew on each vessel. Thie was not exactly a new departure, as from timo to timo different countries, including New Zealand, had asked for certificates oF the kind, and the Dominion had compliod as far as possible. The shipping companies, Mr Russell added, preferred to nay any cost entailed in the inspection, as it facilitated the entry of vessels at the other end.

HOW IS INFLUENZA TRANSMITTED? DESPERATE AMERICAN TESTS. How is influenza transmitted from person to person? Tho question is important at a time when restrictions intended to prevent infection are contemplated in New Zealand. It has puzzled the United States Public Health Service, which, in a recent report directed attention to the difficulties surrounding the etudy_ of methods by which the disease is transmitted. While at one time this question was thought solved (writes Dr. Harrie A. Hougaton, in the Now York "Herald" of February 9th). as well ae any medical question could be without experimental evidence to substantiate it, it now turns out that scientific men know less than was supposed. And not only in this particular, but in others, tho recent epidemic, of which we are now suffering tho aftermath, has disproved some theories which were thought to be well founded. NOT ALWAYS BY MUCUS. The report of the United States Publie Health Service gives the result of somo recent experiments to show that tho commonly accepted theory of transmission by droplets of mucus coughed into them by infected persons does not tell the whole story. Under the supervision of Dr. M. J. Roseman, whose word in tho world of bacteriology will carry great weight at the United States Quarantine Station at Gallop's Island, Boston, an effort was made to transmit the disease to sixtyeight volunteers. Forty-seven had i-o personal history of having had tho disease during the present epidemic, and thirty-nine gave a clear history for life. TESTS WITH SOLDIERS. Tho study began on -November 13th with an experiment in which a suspension of a freshly isolated culture of Pfeiffor'a bacillus was instilled into the nose of three non-immunes and three controls who had an attack of influenza during the present epidemic. Norn* contracted the disease. Another suspension of n number <>i different strains of Pfeiffer's bacillus was used on ten non-immunes, and the Tesults were likewiso negative. Thirty men were also exposed by swabbing and spraying the upper respiratory passages jrith filtered and unfiltered secretions from the respiratory

tracts of men suffering from typical attacks of the disease, and no reaction was obtained. In another set of experiments ten. volunteers camo into close association with each of ten selected cases of influenza ten to eighty-four hours after onset of tho disease. Each volunteer conversed a few min-! utes with each of the ten selected pu-1 tients, tho latter coughing in the face of each volunteer in turn. Each volunteer was thereby exposed to ten cases, n.nd had an exposure lasting three quarters op an hour. | The results were all negative, and in np case did the volunteer contract the ' disease. . ' i Subcutaneous injection was also tried with'equally discouraging results. "\ ONSET OF DISEASE A MYSTERY. '•' A similar set of experiments with men who - had nob been exposed to the disease, atid who therefore presumably had among them many susceptibles, but who had been vaccinated with Pfeiifner's bacillus, the streptococcus and . hemplyticjis . and v the. pneumococcus, were tried- at Angel Island Quarantine Station. San Francieco, and the results ; wore v likewise negative. ■ | ■? As the report .indicates, while theso' oxperimeilte are interesting they are not finally conclusive, but serve to call into question the prevailing belief as to the method of transmission.' j It certainly , would 'hot he wise for people generally to forget the ordinary hygienic precautions not to expectorate '. in public places, and. to suppress whatever 'tendency? to 'cough or'aheeze. which may arise while one is in crowded places, or at least to cover the mouth with the . handkerchief. ■ | There og, however, unquestionably some factor which determines the onset • of the disease which is still, unknown, and ■■ which -scientists are now endeavouring to discover, and which, when known, will do much'to clarify the situation; and «make -true and definite prevention possible. I