SPANISH INFLUENZA

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 85, 7 October 1918, Page 8

SPANISH INFLUENZA

EPIDEMIC RAGING IN EUROPE

As there appears to be a general impression that the outbreak on the trans-' port conveying the Fortieth Reinforcements to England, and which resulted in the death of over seventy of th~e Dominion's soldiers, was what is known as Spanish influenza, the following reference to the epidemic, taken from the New York Sun, to hand by last week's mail, is of considerable interest : —.. The epidemic of the disease popularly termed Spanish influenza appears to be general over a considerable part of Europe. While attention was particularly directed to it after its outbreak in Spain a few weeks ago, there can be no doubt that it has been epidemic in a. very severe form in Germany, Austria, and the territories, occupied by the Central Powers during the last two years. Malnutrition and the general weakening of nerve_ power known as war weariness provide the necessary conditions for an epidemic, and contact between national armies is favourable to propagation. Drought and high winds which fill the air with germ-laden dust also tend to spread this disease, which' is no doubt why Spain had it, as high wiuds make Spanish spring an unhealthful season always. But according to medical reports the epidemic in Spain was not true influenza. The respiratory organs were chiefly attacked, but the .micro-organ-ism is said to have been meningococcus —that is, one of a group which affect the central nervous system and cause cerebro-spinal fever. However, the influenza raging in England, Germany, and Central Europe is more like the familiar disease which has been known in epidemic form for centuries, and at the time of its severe outbreak in 1890 was popularly called Russian influenza. In that epidemic the micro-organism known as the bacillus influenzae was first identified and cultivated. While this organism is found in some severe cases of influenza, another one, the micrococcus catarrhalis, also causes such trouble. HINDERED GERMAN OFFENSIVE. That the prevalence of influenza in ! Germany and Central Europe was partly responsible for hindering the expected great offensive on the Western front has been suggested by medical officers acquainted with conditions on the fighting line. They point out that air-borne infection and close contact with infected persons in dugouts double the chances of- spreading the disease among soldiers, and that no one with a sharp attack of it could possibly go "over the top." All reports indicate that the present epidemic has" been sufficiently severe on the Continent to affect both civilian population and soldiers, preventing probably 25 per cent, of them from following their usual occupations. It is now reported as spreading rapidly in Berlin and a great many other cities in Prussia, also throughout Bavaria and the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Despatches through Dutch sources state that a large number of soldiers, victims of the epidemic, are in hospitals behind the line, while many more have been sent back to Germany. According to Dr. Friedrich Kraus, a specialist of Berlin, the German visitation seizes the victims suddenly. The illness begins with chills, followed by several days of fever. The eyes and throat are affected, tonsils are inflamed, there is slight catarrh of the throat, pains in the head and neck, and sometimes intestinal trouble. ' Curiously enough the. pulse is, according to Dr., Kraus, generally below normal. He adds : " I think there is no reason for alarm, even though we Have to deal with cases en masse. It cannot yet be said, if it is the same .epidemic disease as in 1889 and 1890. As yet we have no certain remedy, and the best thing the victims can do is to go to bed and take every ordinary precaution. The illness is not serious when not followed by complications." BRITISH WORKERS AFFECTED. , In England the influenza epidemic has seriously interfered with work all over the country. It has been especially severe in London and other large cities. In the majority of London offices business has been seriously deranged, and there is scarcely an office staff that has not been greatly depleted. Telephone, telegraph, and postal, services, as well as omnibus and tram lines, have been crippled. Reports from all parts of England indicate a considerable extension of the epidemic. In Northumberland and Durham so many miners are affected that the output of coal is decreasing. At Newcastle labour is daily becoming scarcer, at some places 70 per cent, of the men employed having reported sick. In the .Birmingham district, one of the great munition areas of England, thousands of men and women are unable to work. Many workers collapsed at their machines and had to be sent home in ambulances. The Midlands, Nottingham, Leicester, and Northampton are also suffering severely. In these districts the victims are generally those engaged in indoor work. In the Manchester area schools are being closed and the number of cases of influenza is steadily increasing among all classes. The munition works and public services are seriously affected. . In London every effort is being made to combat the spread of the disease. While influenza is increasing steadily in some London districts, others are so far singularly free from it. In Bermondsey more than 300 girls in a leather factory were attacked within two days. In this district most victims are girls working close together in the large industries. In St. Pancras and Aoton the number is very large, whereas in Sydenham, Kensington, Paddington, and elsewhere there is not more than the ordinary prevalence of influenza at this time of year. Sir Arthur Newsholme, chief officer of the Local Government* Board, discussing the outbreak in London, says: "The present influenza is not so severe as in the great epidemic of 1899-1902. The infection is transmitted by sneezing and coughing, and any general measures of isolation are impracticable except the domestic isolation of the individual patientj which should always be practised. As soon as the symptoms appear the patient should) go to bed and remain isolated from others for at least four to five days. Care should bo'•taken to avoid over-fatigue or. chilljluring convalescence, as a relapse may be more dangerous than the original attack.", ORIGIN OF INFLUENZA. The original stock cultivation of tho influenza bacillus group is believed to exist in mid-Asia, . whence it spreads widely when conditions permit. Many epidemics have originated in Russia. The 1890 pandemic began in Bokhara, passed thence to Petrograd, and so on to Austria, Germany, France,, England, the United States,-and thence' overseas to India, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Epidemiology must explain how a pandemic—that is a disease spreading practically all over the world —gets started. Abnormal atmospheric and climatic conditions seem necessary. Assuming that the home of the influenza bacillus is in Asia Minor, the possibility of the very mild February last having lifted the barrage of cold which usually confines tho bacillus to Asia lias been suggested.