INFLUENZA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19815, 5 December 1919, Page 3

INFLUENZA.

* RECURRENCE OF EPIDEMIC UNLIKELY. WELLINGTON, December 4. A statement in regard to cases of influenza, reported in the Dominion Jfltel.y was nude by the Acting-Chief Health Officer, Dr Makgill, to-day. He said that the Department had been watching closely the dcrelopment of influenza in the Auckland and ’Wellington provinces. During the last three weeks tho dLsea.se had shown a slight tendency to revive. At no time had it taken on tho form of a general epidemic, but iu certain areas an increase in catarrhal diseases, due, doubtless, to the weather conditions, had been shown. It was quite probable that at, about this time every year, tho same thing happened, but hitherto neither influenza nor pneumonia had been, notifiable, to they could not compare the figures with previous years. “The heaviest return for one week throughout the whole Dominion,” Dr Makgill continued, “has been 220 eases- That number is. of course, distributed ajul does not call for any alarm. With the increase of influenza there ha.s been a coincident increase in pneumonia. This is invariably the case in all countries in the world, and means Ycally that the causes that tend to an increase of one type of catarrhal disease tend >lso to the increase of others. The daily record of the last Gw days shows that in all parts of the Dominion influenza, is decreasing again, and I have no reason for fearing that, an epidemic is At the end. of August a similar increase in influenza and pneumonia occurred, but after three, weeks it died down again, just, as it is doing now, illustrating bow little in the way of an epidemic thoro is. T may mention that in the whole of. the Wellington Public Health District. Jncludinj? Hawke's Buy. Nelson and I aranaki, for the twenty-four hours ended noon to-day. there were Jnit seven, oases of influenza, notified. The proportion of oases of the severe type ripen not appear to ho increasing; in fact, in Auckland and Waikato the returns have shown that, practical®* all the cases are of tho mildest description sc*.mild, indeed, that the inspectors informed me that, on visiting the houses, they invariably found that the people themselves did not regard the trouble as other than just an ordinarv cold; “Of course, it is difficult to draw a hard a.nd fast line 1 between a feverish cold and an attack of influenza, and in dealing with tho returns notified as influenza. one has to make allowance for this difficulty. Therefore, tho actual figures on the notification list may lie, somewhat misleading, hut the important thing is to keep a. check on in--flnenzal conditions, which show a marked tendency to pneumonic complications. These, fortunately, are not common. Personally, T think it is improbable that wo shall over again be visited with such an epidemic as we had last year, as the conditions leading up to that epidemic were most exceptional. Doubtless we shall have epidemics of influenza again, hut they will lie pinhably of the mild type.” AUCKLAND OASES. [Per Press Association.] AUCKLAND, December 1. Twelve cases of influenza, were notified in the Auckland Health District during the twenty-four hours ended at, noon, to-day, six being in the citv and six in the country. There was only one severe ease. There were also three cases of pneumonia, two being reported from tho country.