Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-03

unhappy experiences and memoriei en-
eraved in their recollectionS and print
ed In the pages Of their technical re-
ports. For prevention and treatment
there was little new practical knowledge
to be offered to the public. Unscrupu-
lous or misguided advertisers were soon
to offer 'cures" for the "fu." But public
health and medical authorities knew
that In the face Of an influenza cpl
demic they could do little more than
give the good common sense counsel Of:
Keep away from sick people, cover
your coughs and sneezeS, go to bed
when you feel sick, call q doctor. follow
his advice and be an invalid until after
you are sure you are well.
Unarmed, without serums or anti
toxins that often prove useful In other
diseases, the officials could foresee what
was about to happen. They knew
where the 1918 influenza epidemic be-
gan. It was at Commonwealth Pier in
Boston and the month was August.
They knew how the disease, brought
from Europe, spread from city to city,
military camp to military camp, by per-
sons who were often taken sick during
their journeys from one place to an
other. Along the lines Of human travel
the disease spread with grim relentless
ness despite the frantic preventive
measures. the masked physicians and
nurses, the closed schools, the dark
theaters and other emergency precau-
tons. Individuals must meet individ-
uals, and so long as there Is human
contact this disease seems to spread.
II 4 y
r Asst Fall the influenza started on
IL the West Coast instead OF the East.
Whence 1t came no one knows. But
whittier It was going the public health
statisticians did know, although they
were careful not to alarm the public by
terrifying predictions. However, they
were able to predict the probable course
of the epidemic for their own guidance
and the information of Of1icials.
Along the railroads that carry human
freight back and forth, they said, the
epidemic would make Its way eastward,
conquering State after State. And 80
it did, speedily, for influenza lasts only
five to ten weeks in any one place. The
disease made Its transcontinental jour-
ney. From the peak Of the epidemic
on the Pacific Coast to what appears to
! be It's greatest intensity in the East was
only a matter Of six or eight weeks.
The present epidemic has not yet
subsidized. It is too early to know def1-
nitely what Its toll in life has been. The
statisticians who record our country
| health must use indirect methods to de-
! termine the real effects of influenza.
Many physicians apparently do not see
the necessity of reporting influenza
cases, the disease in some of It's forms
seems 50 mild and inconsequential.
And even in the most thoroughly up
to-date report systems only fraction OF
j the cases find their way into the tally
| xlr nf Nm q
tomary for public health statisticians to
consider that only one out Of Ave cases
Of any disease is really reported, but
with influenza the number Of cases re-
ported is an even smaller fraction Of the
total. ... T..
A house to- house canvass of typical
areas Is undertaken in such cases to OBJ
tain better picture of what actually
happened during the diStressful weeks
when the disease ragged. The housewife,
upon whom the burden Of caring for
the sick usually falls is a more compe-
tent recorder Of the statistics of her
household than even the family ply.
sician or the health department. In
such q manner 1t was determined that
one out of every three persons in the
country had influenza during the cpl
demic at the end Of the World War
More to be relied upon are the death
statistics, which from their very nature
give a nearly correct numerical picture
even though the causes may not be sc
accurately recorded upon the death GER
tif1cates. Influenza Ia charged officially
and directly in death certificates with
only part of the toll which 1t really
causes. Many influenza cases turn inte
pneumonia in their Anal fatal stages
and for that reason, In evaluating the
damage from an influenza epidemic
statisticians keep their eyes on thu
deaths caused by related dises a.
we'll.
BY long experience and with many
columns Of statistics. these recorders o.
life and death have computed the nor
NAL toll that various diseases take o.
the population each year. 1t Is possible