INFLUENZA CASES IN AUCKLAND

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25547, 15 July 1948, Page 5

INFLUENZA CASES IN AUCKLAND

NOT VIRULENT FORM UNUSUAL PREVALENCE (P.A.) AUCKLAND, July 14. Influenza and heavy winter colds are unusually prevalent in Auckland and are responsible for the absence from work of many adults and from school of large numbers of children. Although both the Health Department and private doctors agree that the current form of influenza is not unduly virulent, they recommend that patients should stay in bed, both for their own sake and to minimise the spread of infection. “There is a fairly widespread epidemic of mild influenza,” said Dr. L. S. Davis, Medical Officer of Health. “It is not, of course, a notifiable disease, but many people are away from work. People who have influenza should not go about among others. There is too much of that sort of thing, with people coughing and snuffling in picture theatres and other places of assembly. Sufferers should be at home, because when they go about they only spread infection.” Alarm among many mothers when they found children had temperatures up to 102 or 103 degrees w mentioned to Dr. Davis. He said undue concern was unnecessary, because such temperatures were not unusual with influenza. General practitioners are being kept busy attending to influenza patients. Several said they had many sufferers to watch.

Twenty per cent, of the pupils of the Auckland Grammar School were away with influenza to-day and the half-yearly examinations have been postponed. Many of the boys have been away for a full week. The incidence of the illness has been higher among senior forms. At the Mount Albert Grammar School 93 boys, or 13 per cent., were awav to-day. Most other secondary schools had substantial numbers of absentees. Mr G. W. Slane, president of the Auckland Headmasters’ Association, said that in most cases pupils were awav for only three or four days. There were many absentees and a number of teachers had also had influenza.