INFLUENZA IN DOMINION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17335, 5 December 1919, Page 9

INFLUENZA IN DOMINION

OPINION OF DR. MAKGILL. POSITION NOT ALARMING. AN EPIDEMIC UNLIKELY. [by telegraph.— association.l WELLINGTON. Thursday. A statement in regard to the cases of influenza reported in the dominion lately was made by the acting-chief health officer, Dr. R.H. MakgiU, today. The Department, he said, had been watching closely the development of influenza in the Auckland and Wellington Provinces during the last three weeks. Tho disease had shown a. slight tendency to revive. At no time had it taken on the form of the general epidemic, but in certain areas an increase in catarrhal diseases, due doubtless to weather conditions, had been shown. Every year the same thing happened, but hitherto neither influenza nor pneumonia had been notifiable. It was therefore impossible to compare the figures with previous years. •' The heaviest return for one week throughout the whole Dominion,'' continued Dr. Makgill, " has been fsO cases. That number is, of course, distributed, and does not call for any alarm. With the increase of influenza there has been a coincident increase in pneumonia. 1 his is invariably the case in all countries in the world, and means really that the causes that tend to increase on© type of catarrhal disease tend also to increase others. "The record of the last few days shows that in all parts of the Dominion influenza I is decreasing again. 1 have no reason for I fearing that an epidemic is pending. At, the end of August a similar increase in, influenza and pneumonia occurred, but j after three weeks it died down again, just as it is doing now. This illustrates how little in the way of an epidemic there is. 1 may mention that in the whole of the Wellington public health district, including Hawke's Bay, Nelson, and Taranaki, for the 24 hour's ended at noon to-day, there were but eeven cases of influenza notified. •' The proportion of cases of a severe type does not appear to be increasing ; in fact, in Auckland and Waikato the returns have shown that practically all the cases are of tho mildest description, so mild indeed that the inspectors informed me that on visiting the houses they invariably found the people themselves did not regard the trouble as other than just an ordinary cold. "Of 'course, it is difficult to draw a hard and fast line between a feverish cold and an attack of influenza, and in dealing with the returns notified as influenza one has to make allowance for this difficulty. Therefore actual figure* on the notification list may be somewhat misleading. But the important thing is to keep a check on influenza conditions which show a marked tendency to pneumonic complications. These fortunately are not common. " Personally I think it is improbable we shall ever again bo visited with such an epidemic as we had last year, as tho conditions leading up to that epidemic were most exceptional. Doubtless we shall have epidemics of influenza again, but they will be probably of a mild type." POSITION IN AUCKLAND. -MILD FORM PREDOMINATES. Twelve- eases of influenza were notified to the Auckland district health office during the 24 hours ended at noon yesterday. Of these five cases wer e in the* city and one in the suburbs, all in a mild form. From the country portion of the health district five mild cases and one severe were notified. One new case of pneumonia in the city, and two in the country were also notified. During the previous 24 .hours four mild cases of influenza and one case of pneumonia -were recorded in the city and suburbs. All the countrycases of influenza yesterday were reported from the Bay of Plenty district.