Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1919-01-24
THE INFLUENZA.

Il The Influenza situation seem to BIZ
improving in some sections OF tn;
county, including Woodstock and
vicinity. Among the most severe
leases in Woodstock we're those OF e.
q Locke, Ecmets English aud Rev.
rs. K Cockre'l, al OF whom are aow
reported to be Improving.
| The Board OF Health and the
Board Of Supervisors realize the
IgFsvity Of the situation and have
ordered the schools OF the county
70 be closed, stores to be closed at
Ip NJ, preaching only il the morning
or afternoon, on Sundays and sus.
pension OF Sunday Schools or other
meetings where people congregate
While this action will Inconvenience
some, It is n necessary provldent pre-
caution.
The county can better affor1 to pay
The teachers not to teach than 10 pay
them to be instrumental in .ha spread
OF iohpenza and pneumonia. Il fact
1t would be better to keen lho schools
closed for The year than to have che
Or more of our people die from in
loenza which could be traced TO the
schools
This is not new epidemic, as such
prevailed in previous years. AL
most one hundred epiGemies were re
corded in the eight hundred years
prior TO 1889 In 1890 there were
100, 0Q0 eases in Chicago alone and
there we're thousands of deaths. It
usually lasts several years,
While there we're some deaths N thei
county, our physicians have been
very successful IN treating the dis
ease The determination Of the !
Health Board and Board Of Super !
Tisors to arrest the spread Of tins dis
ease. If possible, is very commendab'e
and the people generally seem to APP
prove their action.
The disease is evidently cous3g lous, |
as the reports from different sectioEs}
OF ghe county Indicate
IN oae case. q little girl returned
trom 4 visit to & place where I'D 20
enza prevailed. Al her home tow
there we're no eases at The time. Size
started to school, not suspecting that
she had inhuenza, which soon after
developed and in several days, there
were twenty-five eases IN the room
in which she attended and the disease
vas spread through the community.
Cases of similar character have
been reported from other sections OF
the county.
A funeral service at which only /
relatives OF the deceased were present.
vas held at the house and every one
hat was present contracted the dis
ease, i
The fact that the disease is on the
the decrease does not Justify dis
continuing the orec&utjon, An Ua-l
heard OF case, through the schools, il
u -"t sadange. a whole coumln tty. I
Tue aoverenoos BIAS h7sa making
III effort 70 ind Ont What tae Flu S
and nov W get it.
Pure c. lures OF tbs so-called In
-uerza bacillus were introduced into
.h3 noStri.s Of some; blood from the |
in luenza patients was Injected IL o
The blood Ct Others and many 4g7er
tests were made, but negative results
were obtained in every case. All oiI
the volunteers remained entirely we'll.
The tests were undertaken by meii
ca! officers of the United States navy,
co operating with the Public Health
Service. They were conducted in
Boston and San Francisco.
In thirty cases the men we're in0ccu-
lated with secretions from the respi-
ratury passages of typical influenza
in the active stage Of the disease. No
attack of influenza Was produced.
In another experiment, ten volun-
teers permitted influenza patients to
cough into their faces Not one Of
these developed SYMPTOMS of influenza.
NO FINAL CONCLUSIONS.
Commenting on these paradoxical |
results, Surgeon General Blue, of the |
Public Health Service, warned against |
drawing final conclusions.
The experiments are very interest
ing and numUer OF possibilities
must be considered" he says. For
the present, sanitarians will do we'll
to continue applying the general prin-
ipies of control that are based on
the justified assumption that the dis
ease is drop!et infection.
II believe, however, that We have
not given enough consideration to
hands and mouth as a path OF infec-
tioA nor have we sufficiently en-
phasized the possible infectivity of
the very earliest stages OF the dis.
ease.