EPIDEMIC INFLUENZA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17461, 4 May 1920, Page 5

EPIDEMIC INFLUENZA.

RECURRENCE. UNLIKELY. RED CROSS league bulletin ORIGIN IN EASTERN EUROPE. An article discussing the causes of influenza epidemics and the risks of another outbreak as virulent as that of 1918 has been prewired by the Department of Medical Information of the League of Red Cross Societies, and published in the Bulletin of this international organza tion. Since the beginning of the year a disquieting ' increase of influenza has been reported from many countries, notably Japan, the United States, Northern Italy and Spain, and warnings have been issued that this may be'the beginning of another "wave" of the epidemic. It is too eaiiy yet to judge of its probable extent or severity, "lint there is no occasion to anticipate a repetition, on anything like the same scale, of the devastating visitation of 1918. This we may assume from the behaviour of former epidemics, and, furthermore, it is reasonable to suppose that a large proportion of the population is more or less " protected" this year ..by,. reason of having had the . disease. less than . two years ago. During 1918, for example, the fatal oases Were proportionately more numerous in pe'rsoris under 35 years of age, which is not what one would expect except on the theory that the majority of. people above that age, having had the disease during the last great epidemic in 1889-91, still enjoyed a certain, degree of immunity.

Simple Precautions. Influenza is the only serious infectious disease which in modern times reaches "pandemic" proportions— that is, affects the entire population in the course of a few. weeks.. Patients- still going about coughing and sneezing.' in,,the early stages of the disease scatter the virulent germs broadcast in * the air, and in this way everyone is liable to be exposed to the infection. Spreading thus in the same manner as common colds, little can be done to limit its ravages. It becomes a mattelr of i«f!ivi4ual personal hygiene. There are no sure safeguards, but the chances of infection can -undoubtedly be diminished by airtain precautions, such 36 avoiding crowded or ill-ventilated rooms and conveyances, and keeping the nose, mouth, and throat the portals of entry, as clean as possible, by means of frequent rinsings with warm water in which a little common salt has been dissolved' At the first sign of the disease the patient should- go to bed and stay there tillconvak»cerice is' well'established. Experience has shown that those who try to fight the disease, or who are obliged— and physically —to go about their business for a day or two, are much more liable to develop Were symptoms and the deadly complication, pneumonia. ttuta and Vaccines. Gauze masks covering the mouth and nose undoubtedly afford some protection, if people can be induced to wear them. In a great emergency, such as occurred in 1918, they should be provided ;n a vast scale, and their use encouraged in every way. About six are needed for each individual, in order that they may be • frequently changed, the oftener the better. They are easily disinfected by being baked in an oven and then exposed to sunlight. Vaccines also are being need in Japan, and in Great Britain the Ministry of Health has lately notified the public thai, they are available for anyone who wishes to take advantage of thu somewhat doubtful measure of protection they seem to afford.' These vaccines are prepared from th% influenza bacilhs and from the several other' germs which are associated with it in causing the isecondary pneumonia, the dreaded compilation which makes influenza such a fatal disease. The vaccines to be of use must bo given before the epidemic has gained a foothold in the community. In the present site of our knowledge there h no immediate prospect' of discovering a curative serum. The, blood serum of people who have recovered' from the disease,has been used in a few instances and with no very definite results. V . ,' , . .-" .?. t s ! Breeding-pound of Influensa. - Most epidemic diseases seem to hare a "home," a district in which cases are always to be found and from which at intervals the disease starts out to ravage the world. Thus the bubonic plague, the Black Death of the Middle Ages, is en-' domic in certain parts of India. Similarly the starting point of the epidemics of influenza has bwn traced with some a •- tainty to Eastern Europe, especially Vie district on the borders of Russia hi j Turkestan. From here it sets forth at intervals of thirty to fifty years, moving slowly towards the East, 'more 'rapidly towards the West, but always -mth the speed of human travel. It acquires increasing virulence as it goes. Trie causes which determine these 6udden migrations are quite unknown. It would germ, however, that our best chance of ridding mankind of the menace of this periodical scourge lies not so much in the discovery of a protective serum or vaccine, as in. making's determined attack on the disease during its long inactive .period at its source. Such a plan"of campaign cannot yet be msteriajised. Fa* political and geographical as well as inedical reasons the problem is not so simple as it was in the case of yellow fever which has been definitely controlled by the masterly "cleaning up " of its endemic homes in Cuba and Panama, Nevertheless, we may confidently expect that. intaa ■.turn will wine before the next «wsl epidemic ( is due. ■■-■- ■ •'•*■•■''