The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-12-20
SCHOOL SITUATION
BETTER; TEACHERS
RETURN TO DUTIES
IS to 80 Of $50 Students At
High School Are Affected
BY Disease
OLDER PERSONS HIT HARD
State Health Officer Says Some
in Higher Age Brackets
Have Died

Improvement In the situation Gre
ated by an influenza epidemic among
school children was noted Tuesday
by H. o. Saxvik, city school superin-
tendent.
Enrolment figures Monday showed
42l pupils and eight teachers absent.
All of the teachers were i'll but 1t
was impossible to determine the
number Of pupils affected because
some were dismissed when the teach
ers were unable to appear.
Perhaps the best indication Of the
Incidence Of the disease was provided
by figures on high school enrolment.
Here 119 students were absent Mon
day as compared with a normal alb
sence of about 80. Since the high
school courses are taught by periods
and a student meets a number of
teachers daily, the absence Of q few
teachers would not seriously inter-
rupt the activities of the average
pupil.
On this basis it Is estimated that
between IS and 80 high school pupils
of the total of $50 were absent Mon
day because of influenza.
Saxvik said the situation had i'm
proved at the Richholt school, where
a number of teachers had been Ill,
and was very good" at the Will
school, but that it was worse at the
william Moore and Wachter schools.
One teacher was absent at the Roose-
welt school.
To Keep Schools Open
School authorities took the matter
up with DR.. G. e. Stackhouse, city
health officer, and were advised not
to close the schools. This advice was
reinforced by DR.. A. A. Whittemore,
state health officer, who said he
would advise against closing schools
anywhere under present conditions.
Saxvik said he did not consider the
disease as unusually severe, even
though fairly widespread. In num-
Der of cases, he said, students had
developed high temperatures but that
they lasted only a few hours and the
students then showed signs of imme-
diate improvement. In some cases,
he said, the disease was accompanied
by slight cough.
Whittemore said the disease has
proved much more severe In the
cases of older persons and that some
deaths have been reported in the
higher age groups, usually because OF
complications with pneumonia or
other respiratory troubles or because
of weakened heart conditions. He.
too, stated that he has observed
many epidemics when the effects of
the disease were as severe as appar-
emily is the case this year with the
average age group.
At the same time he offered some
observations as to why some persons
are seriously affected and what to do
when one feels the disease coming
on.
1.-THE man who gets the bad case
Of influenza is the fellow who re-
CARDS himself as too tough to be at
fected by it and who insists that he
isn't sick enough to justify. him in
going to bed" said Whittemore.
Everyone who feels it coming on
and who develops q slight fever
should 60 to bed and stay there. He
should remain In bed for three or
four days after it is all over. Then
he is certain to be all right. The man
who dies from influenza Is the one
who fights it on his feet"
The objection to closing the schools,
he said, Is that children are as liable
to be exposed elsewhere as at school
and the further fact that the epi-
demic is too mild to justify such &C.
ton.