INFLUENZA EPIDEMICS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22356, 1 September 1934, Page 23

INFLUENZA EPIDEMICS

WORLD OUTBREAKS DISCUSSED . DANGER OF GENERAL INFECTION (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, August 31. , The relation of influenza epidemics in New Zealand to those in other countries, and the danger of general infection from outside are discussed in tbe annual re- i port of the Health Department presented to tbe House of Representatives to-day. The report states that the outbreak of j influenza in Britain culminating in i January, 1933, again roused wide public interest in the question whether New ; Zealand must in due course suffer an invasion of the disease from this quarter, j Recent history of influenza is that the j world has suffered two great pandemics, j those of 1889-92 and 1918-19, and that ; subsequent to the widespread diffusion of virus in this way local epidemics of varying degrees of intensity have tended to occur in the winter months in every j quarter- of the globe. In New Zealand, ! for instance, it is usual to experience a so-called “ seasonal ” outbreak of in- | fluenza from June to September, while in Britain similar outbreaks occur dur J I ing the winter and early spring months. ! It will be seen that while Australia and New Zealand follow one another closely, there is not the same relationship between influenza in Britain and in the Antipodes. Indeed, for the period 19231928 the curve for England and Wales takes a diametrically opposite course to those for Australia and New Zealand. Thus 1924 and 1927, the peak years for England and Wales, were marked by a low incidence in Australia and New Zealand, while 1923, 1920 and 1928, with few influenza deaths in England and Wales, proved years with heavy mortality in Australia and New Zealand. Subsequent to 1928 there is a general similarity between the curves, the peak years and the years of low incidence being the same for all throe countries. The evidence altogether is inconclusive. All that can he said from a study is that epidemic influenza docs not necessarily nor even usually invade New Zealand from Britain. The period of time which separates the winter epidemics of the two countries further supports the belief that these seasonal outbreaks are purely local affairs, due not to any importations of fresh virus, but to the lighting up of infection which is ever present, but which smoulders until activated by suitable environmental and . biological conditions. Influenza of the usual seasonal type became general throughout the Dominion in the winter of 1933.