American Fork citizen. [volume] (American Fork, Utah) 1912-1979, 1919-08-30

WUSulHBtoht ~ ~
hone to keep your health this autumn,
get yourself into the pink of physical
condition, and take all possible pre-
cautions to avoid infection. For the
FLU is going to hit us again., and the
amount of damage 1t will do depends
largely upon how well we prepare
for It. This is the cheering message
of DR.. Otto Geier of Cincinnati, secre-
.arv of te American Medical associa-
ton.
Already the visitation of the most
dramatic and destructive plague OF
modern times Is b. ginning to grow
dim in the memories of many people,
and this despite the fact that there
are reminders Of IL everywhere.
Nearly everyone has n friend who Is
not able to work as he did before he
rot the flu Nearly everyone who
has travelled during the past year and
inuulred for old friends has heard a
gain and again the depressing words,
''he died of the flu"
Nearly everyone has noticed, too,
the surprising number Of women with
short hair. Some of these are afflict-
ed with artistic inclinations but
most of them gave up their browning
glory reluctantly enough after having
the flu. Indeed, in some sections the
Flu Is said to have created quite a
vogue for bobbed hair.
/ /
Short hair is the least serious OF
the after effects Of influenza. DR..
Gier says that II viii add 40 per cent
to the mortality rate for the next
five years. This meGnst 40 per cent
more people will die than would have
died had there been no flu. They
Will die because this strangely weak
cning disease has Slapped their resis-
lance to other diseases.
These fearful after-affects of the
flu, even more than the number OF
|
lives Il destroys at once make II nat
,onal calamity which we can Ill af-
FORD to pass through again. The
country IL strewn with men who
thought that they were In their prime
and who got over the flu only to find
that they wero old and about done;
with women who can no longer be
wives or mothers since they had the
FLU. and with children whose growth
has been checked. One or two more
winters with ouch cp.demlcs, and the
United States will have suffered al
rost as much loss or human power
cs some European Countries did thru
the war.
In support OF his claim that the
influenza epidemic Will rocur, DR..
Geier cites the record of the nearly
allied disease of IL grippe, which APP
reared IN epidemic form In 1888. 10
did not reach It's peak until 1901, and
two years after that II rocured and
destroyed thousands of lives. We
have had two other opidemics OF grip
pc or inflrenza-one In 1867 and the
other In 1S95-and both OF these show
cd the same reourrent quality.
In the face OF this literal certainty
that we will have to combat influ-
onza again next year. we are totally
unprepared to do SO. Medical science
knows little more about influenza
today than II did y year ago, when
the scourge was spreading like n
prairie fire over all the world. For
this reason. the doctors are making
lelabc rate and oXtals,ye research into
the cause and effect OF the disease in
order TO try to be better prepared
| for the next outb9dk. Medical mer
aro hopeful Of discovering a specific
remedy for the Flu 30 was done In
the cases of yellow fever diphiheria
and typhus fever.
Among the medical men OF this
country making studies of the flu
ere Dr.. William II Park famous
hacteriolOgist and head of the bureau
of laboratories of the department OF
health in New York; Dr. John +. An