The evening times., 1898-12-31
GRIPS mild GRASP
ON GREAT BRITAIN
Pesky Malady Treats Her Maj
esty's Subjects Kindly.
Physicians Think There Is Little
Danger of an Epidemic.
Unable to Understand How the Dis
ease Gained Such HeadyEay In
This Country.

London, Dec. 31.-At the present time
England in general and London in partic-
uIar are remarkably free from influenza.
the doctors say that ever since the dis
ease made its first appearance this coun-
try has never been so free as at the pres
ent time.
The registrar generals returns for the
week show that out of the returns OF dis
eases of the respiratory organs only twelve
deaths resulted from influenza, which is
remarkably low.
Leading medical men laugh at the idea
of an epidemic of influenza here The
medical strength. they consider, is so great
that influenza could not possibly get such
a hold on the community as TO create any
danger of a serious epidemic. and from
the interviews which follow it will be seen
that the doctors consider there is no ur-
gent need for making special preparations
for repelling an invasion of influenza.
DR.. James Galloway, chief physician at
the Charins Cross Hospital and at the
Great Northern Hospital, said:
There is no need of thinking about iso-
lating patients attacked by influenza. Three
years ago we had what some might call a
bad attack of influenza, but we had no diff
fculty in combating ii. / do not see what
any serious study"
DR. Joseph l. Berkert a medical man
! who has had considerable experience in in
| fiuenZa patients in various hospitals in pre-
vious years. said he did not see why doc
tors. health officers or anybody else should
feel alarm or bother about influenza strik-
ing England seriously.
we had" he said, "a bad epidemic Of
the disease before, and have eombated it
i -.
matter was that in previous years a great
many of ailments and respiratory diseases
| were called influenza, which is not the
| same that occurs now. II the influenza
showed any symptoms of breaking out Sc
riously we should not have any difficulty in
! coping with il. l don't know how 1t can
| have got such hold on New York. The
! health officers, or whatever they are called
! over there, must be lax. That would never
| have happened here"
| DR.. Biandfcrd. whose name is well
| known in the United States as a mental
| physician, said that during the past few
| yeras great many cases of insanity had
! been attributed TO Influenza, which was
] really not the cause OF that disease. but
! that IL created more concern than need be.
/ This year, he said, there had been no cases
! of the sort. There had been a good deal
I of influenza in England in recent years,
! Germ.
DR.. Selby Church. the well-known West
End physician. simply laughed when asked
! how he would suggest dealing with such an
! epidemic as at present in New York.
we never have had anything of the
sort to trouble US here" he said, 'and I
never heard the subject discussed seriously
| in professional circles
! DR.. Abercrombie. who has much infiu-
ence in the hospitals, said:
Il don't know that l should 90 anything
here. In the Royal College of Physicians
influenza has been frequently discussed,
I but. so far as l know, never as to how We
! should meet an epidemic. We have never
thought OF an epidemic We won't require
10, for We have never found it yet. Al
| though influenza has been proved trouble
some in some parts. it has never been bad
| enough that any official measures should
be required. 1t is not like typhoid or scar
let fever and other contagious diseases
The fact OF the matter is, have not Civ
en- the subject of influenza much thought
and l don't know any professional breth-
ren who have