SCHOOL ILLNESSES

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 92, 16 March 1927, Page 4

SCHOOL ILLNESSES

INFLUENZA AND OTHER COMPLAINTS, MAKE INROADS ON ATTENDANCES. , Waves of influenza, usually in a mild form, have come to be regarded almost as a commonplace in recent years and most school attendance records serve as a barometer of the incidence of this compalint. Within the past few weeks Palmerston North school attendances have been rather severely affected by various complaints amongst pupils, although conditions are now about normal. In addition to influenza there have been not a few cases of diphtheria, scarlet fever, mumps and chicken pox—perhaps a little above the average. Terrace End School appears to have had the largest number of influenza absentees as indicated by the attendance roll which, on February 4, contained 641 names a few days later 660 and the next week the very high number of 700 (there are altogether 718 on the roll). In the next few days a wave of gastric influenza swept through the school and within a week the roll dropped to 528—a decrease of 272. Seven days later the attendance had mounted to 625 and on March 11 to 640. ■On Monday 660 children answered their names at roll call which is within about ten or a dozen of the average at Terrace End. While there were a few sufferers from other complaints influenza appears to have taken the heaviest toll. Serious cases were few, as isi indicated by the rapid recovery of the pupils after the week’s bout of illness.

Central School was more fortunate, although there, too, the general complaint was rather severely felt at one time.

Upwards of 80 children were absent at College Street School at the height of the epidemic, but conditions there aro now about normal and much the same applies to Hokowhitu School which had 30 to 40 pupils in bed a week or so ago. Only about 15 children are still oonfined to their homes from school at West End where the roll went down by 50 or so when influenza was most prevalent. The symptoms have been typical of gastric influenza—a child would suddenly complain of stomach pains and have to be sent home to bed when a speedly recovery was in most cases effected, although in some instances, where the patient got about too soon, complications of a rather serious character set in. “We have had none of these for a very long time,” stated one schoolmaster when interviewed by a “Standard” reporter yesterday afternoon, as he pointed to a number of pink papers on a file. They were notifications of infectious disease and led up to the master informing his interviewer that scarlet fever, diphtheria, chicken pox and mumps accounted for several of the absentees at his school. Other masters had similar experiences although in moat cases the number of infectious disease bases was not perceptibly above the average. Three teachers at Terrace End. two at West End, and an occasional one at some of the other town schools have been absent on account of influenza, but the epidemic is' now well past its severest stage.