INFLUENZA WAVES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 46, Issue 14128, 28 May 1920, Page 5

INFLUENZA WAVES.

NOTHING TO CAUSE ALARM.

. An interesting and ■ 'reassuring statement in regard to the. influenza.;wavo at .present-in evidence in tho Wellington Ilealth'' District, WhsA made yesterday byi Dr.-Ffiris, ! District-Health. Officer-. ■ 'the Week J Cfidlng'' Monday’ last; •M4y' -24th'/’ statedV'Dr.'- 'Faris,: “1149 caSes ! bf- influenza’w-tire notified in tho Wellington Health District ,wbic’h ■ goes -his I far "as -New Plymorithi'-tm- the 'one coast and as fag-as' ;, Waipawa oft the other side, : arid also’lncludes the Nelson and Blenheim Hospital Districts. Bujt of the 1149 cases, no fewer I 'than 1112 were mild, ond only 1,3. severe • and: 24 ' pneumonic. ■■ Thy estimated-f population of the .health, district: is -;555;632. In i the : preceding-week dheroi were : 798 cases, of which 775 were mild, ‘three, severe,- and 20 pneunionic. U.TheiQfore, thq proportion of the-pueumbnieHcases to ;the mild eases is, a ydry-sinall pert? centage. It was 24 ,to illl2 flask- week; and 20 to 775 theo* week’ ■ beforeso that -the ‘pneumonic...ratiofLasHit! was called, was very low, .and in,proportionto the number of. inhabitants in-,the health district, it . .is b nothing ;to be alarmed about. In - Wellington City .and suburbs, for the week ending 'May 24th, ‘ there were 356 mild cases, and three - pneumonic* -out -of a- population ofi over SO,OOO, and for the week ending May 17th there were 325 mild cases seven pneumonic, and two severe; so. that the overwhelming'majority of the cases are mild.

f f Personally,T am of opinion.that we shall get a number of these waves of mild influenza throughout the winter months, and there is nothing to cause alarjn. In past years, before there was j notification, ;we had these waves of I mild, influenza. For the past twenty- ] four hours there were notified throughj out the. health "district four pneumonic l eases (one at Lower Hutt, one iii Wel- ' lington, and two at Eltham), two severe \ cases (one at Pahiatua and oiio at ; Stratford), and. 108 mild cases, making ; a total of 114.