179 Died From Asian 'Flu During Epidemic

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28661, 11 August 1958, Page 7

179 Died From Asian 'Flu During Epidemic

Nearly 180 persons—mostly infants and old persons—died from Asian influenza, and about one person in three was infected in New Zealand during the epidemic last year. This is stated in the annual report of the Health Department by the director of the division of public hygiene (Dr. L. S. Davis). “New Zealand cannot be said to have escaped lightly,” he said. However, in the three previous years, 86, 28, and 80 persons died from other strains of influenza. Of the 179 killed by the Asian variety, 28 were infants uuJer the age of one year and 94 were more than 60 years old. In most districts the epidemic lasted about two months, and iff both Auckland and Wellington about a third of the population was infected. This would mean that throughout New Zealand 700,000 persons had it in either mild or serious form.

Three persons arriving by air from Malaya in May were the first cases noted in New Zealand. Another came from Japan in June. In Auckland, the outbreak built up during July and August until, in the third week of that month, there was a peak of 29,000 cases. It was not possible to control an influenza epidemic, said Dr. Davis, but in an effort to delay its full impact until the warmer spring Weather, port health officers were alerted to isolate in hospital all infected persons arriving in New Zealand by air or sea. Supplies of vaccine from Australia were “always too little or too late.”

“Asian influenza will probably be with us for the next 10 years or so and will, if it follows the pattern of its predecessors, produce epidemics of varying severity each two,or three years,” said Dr. Davis.

It would seem, from observations overseas, that the Asian strain bore a strong resemblance to the strain which caused the 1889 epidemic, he continued. “It has been shown that persons over the age of 70 years possess antibodies against this new strain.” There was, however, a countersuggestion that oft-repeated Experiences with an influenza virus which had some slight resemblance to the most recent strain would produce the same effect, and that it could be expected thai this wpul(J be more in evidence in old people. “The main comfort in the first view is that we are dealing now with a virus which in no way resembles the 1918 experience, and supports the view that the 1918 influenza was an isolated experience, brought about not only by the mutation of a virus but a com**

bination of other factors affecting other members of the bacteriological world,” he said.

“This engenders the hope that this combination of circumstances will not be repeated and that this new virus will be more orthodox in its behaviour.”