Flu now on the wane

Press, 24 June 1983, Page 5

Flu now on the wane

The influenza epidemic sweeping Christchurch is now likely to peter out, according to Christchurch Hospital virologists. They identified yesterday the virus as Influenza HINI, a relation to the Russian flu. The virus was not the Philippines strain earlier thought to be a possibility, although it belonged to the same general group. The hospital’s chief virologist, Dr L. C. Jennings, said the HINI strain had mostly affected schoolchildren. It

was now spreading to adults in their families who were more likely to have some resistance to the virus from earlier contact.

“I think it will slowly peter out from now on,” he said.

The Russian strain swept through the world in 1977 after a 30-year disappearance. There was an Auckland epidemic in 1979 with a number of related deaths, but few outbreaks were reported in the South Island. Dr Jennings said it was

interesting to note that some cases had been isolated in Wellington involving a Hong Kong flu-type virus. That was more closely related to the Philippines flu, expected to arrive in New Zealand this winter. At least one school in Dunedin has had to postpone its sixth-form and seventhform mid-year examinations. One high school had 375 out of 990 pupils away yesterday and another had 40.2 per cent of its 290 pupils absent.