New Britain herald., 1919-09-19
OF THE EPIDEMIC

States was just beginning to suffer from the first cases of influenza a disease which was to take it's toll of humanity to such an extent that the loss of life was to be greater, here, than there were American soldiers lost in the war, as a direct result of enemy action There are orphans and widows galore, even in New Brit ain, since the epidemic, which, as all know, was serious that it tempo rarily made every community a gath ering of semi-crazed people. The doc tors were unable to cope with the spread of the disease, it lay beyond the power of any man to properly at tend his share of cases. For short while the entire resources of the pub lie spirited were used to feed and give some measure of comfort to the sui ferers. Hospitals were full, homes held the deathly sick, and the grave- yards were piled with ,corpses, which could not be buried through lack of labor.
 A soldier, presumably, imported the first case of the disease and it was at Camp DeVens that the first serious outbreak occurred. From there it spread rapidly about the country and through the camps. Transports, go- ing and coming, with human freight, fought the inroads of the germ, with little success. A very few men were responsible for the outbreak here. Some of the returning instructors on their way to Devens proved, carriers; through them, thence through soldiers going home on leave and the usual grist of people who travel about the country, it was spread until it reached everywhere. Influenza is very easily carried and transmitted from one to another. In addition to this, the germ, we are told, is very delicate and cannot live long in the open air, which makes it easier to fight.
 The people of the city should look to their health before there is danger of a return of the epidemic. We have no assurance that it is to return; there has been a great division of opinion on the possibility. Notwith- standing, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose if we guard against it now. The germ is less sure of gaining a foothold in the respira- Therefore the first rule in guarding against it is, look to your health Make your body, if it lies within your power, shield to stand between the transmission of the germ from one to another. Should enough of us be healthy enough to fight off the inroads of the mic coscopic bacterial enemy there could be no epidemic. Each of us may help in erecting the barrier Fresh air, good food and sane regula- tlon of habits with an avoidance of anything which might overtire us, are our first needs for health.
 The germ itself is spread through the minute particles of moisture ex- haled by a person sneezing or cough ing. That person must first have the disease in his system, whether he suf- fers from it or not. An individual in hallng any of these particles of moist ure becomes inoculated with the dis ease and may spread it, by the same process. There is peculiarity about the germ, however,, and that is that it cannot live outside of the human sys- tenn longer than five mnutes That amount of fresh air will put him out of business, though his relatives may live in the body of the one that spon- sored him. Therefore one must breathe the infected air of anothers eXhalation, practically at once in or der to catch the flu" For this rea- son a gauge mask, placed over tho nose and throat, is a strong ally of humanity against the spread of the disease. The mask catches the m oist- ure, whether it is going into the lungs or being expelled, and holds it lons enough to kill the germ. He will be stopped from entering the system, should you be healthy and wear a mask, and he will also be unabl to get out. once he has established himself in ones lungs. The mask kills him in a very short time. It has been stated that a mask, which has been worn by l one who had the disease. and had ex- haled the mesh full of the germs, could be worn with perfect safety by anyone, as far as the flu is con- 1 cerned. after it had been exposed ten l minutes to the open air.