EPIDEMIC OF INFLUEZA.

Samoa Times and South Sea Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 69, 15 February 1890, Page 3

EPIDEMIC OF INFLUEZA.

Thr Argan of TW IS afcavmas—"Tha reMtrkable q»>U-wk of rafloenaa. which hj rapidly artrradiag over Europe, ia by no aieaaii ft aww or unknown phewnienoa. The dieeaas lit question, instead, in in the habit of appearing in epidemic form, and baa ma<le manv prr-vlntr* invasions of Europe, disappearing almost at suddenlv and unewetedlv as it arri vod. 1W last of thoac outbreak* oetairrad in 1547.I 5 47. and hit othors are raeorded duringtbi> perbui between that year and 1762. In meat of thaHO eajg* thn <|iKoa<<<> aeeinN to have originated in A«ia, and tlienon to have sprend westward through Europe .v'f.ir as tin- •.lion* of America. The ennr* which tho preacnt viaitation ia l<dluwiii<( aipcam, ao far fti it hsa ;*ono as yet, to be very much tli.« same. Iloxsin baa no doubt reoivoil it from the Asian countries lb.it lio on her eastern fronticr.nn'li«baii'lingilonto the westernna titm s«>f the • s«ttikiit. How far the epidoinic is dctim-d to spread cannot, <>f cour«c,'T>i; foretold, hot its mov'iiiont* have on former oeoasionH loh-ii wondorfully wide and swift, covering tlw whole of E'liop • in the short span? of six we'*k-<. K'milar uutbrenki of the epidemic having l«-<«ii known In have very oiirions i-H'tlh. and it i« mentionol that A.l'oirnl Kcmjx'nfoldt, in 1782, hail to return with his squadron from tin- efmnt of France, with whom England waa then at war. in consequence of influenza attacking tho crwws <>f his ships. The oriffin of the di*<asc ha? been attribuud atdiffeienl times to widely differentenu-HM, the influence of the st n;, wlteoCe tiic Italian name for tin- dmcase i-. deri/cd, to an exec - <f eleelrieity in tbc atiunxpher". It is p»'<»bnl>l«'. however, that modern -li.-uee will l)C more inclined Ui attribute tinscourge to 'ionic of thosv small germ* which are akrondy mn-lc nwiionsih'e fiV so mueb. And if the iiiiernl«: of influenza shojtld lie traced, it i.s to be hoped that the di' rover v of some remetlv this forui ; <l"l-le, if not very dead'v. disorder will not Ih> lung in following. Witem-vor the disease reaches England it. travels to the State*, and it reP'ain* '•> !>♦• geen whether, with tu-ewnt facilities of comminication, the visitant will reach Au.;'rnli.i. Writing on DccemlM**' IS, The Times said :—• The mniked charaeterl<tics of the Russian complaint have not, as yet. be«n noticeable in the inflnenza in f/-n<l >r. The two ntost prominent symptoms in the ljnssinn nijoi-nt are high temperature and great frontal headache, accompanieil in many casox by pain in the eyehalU, in all by a Ibtil tonguo anil breath, nnd a gen. oral malaise. The onset is ia|iid, the temperature rnnning up nt once to SOilcg. or 40d<»?». "'., or even higher ( but the pulse Is not in all canon raised propot tionately with tho temperature. In aomc cases Atarrbof tbenosoaiid frontal sinuses are added; in others sore-throat and catarrh of tho deeper air - passa^s; la aouo gnatfc-intcstinal catarrh m a prominent system; and in many there aro vague rheutnatic pains aboutr tho back, shoulders, and limbs. Tho duration is short, averaging from throe to Ave day", hut sometimes prolonged to six or eight daya, or even longer, nnd convalescence is rapid. The miauu has horn spread afUr weather exceptionally mild and prolonscd, so Dr. Frank Q. Clemow, of St Peturtburg,. report* to tbe British Medical Journal. It ia authorativelv stated thai the prevalence of the diaeaee in the human mac haa always boon coincident with the prevalence of a ahni- ! lar disease among domestic animab —dogs, caU, cow*, and anaetialtv honea In the hone it bagfna aoddenly with ineiafng, followed by rigors, fever, lironehitle. and a short diycongn. Some »ree ownert el hare iwpertest the aeear. |HM»' ef some ilmeei aiaeag tMr laaak bet it II not «M HnHhW ef Jfcia aaeaail Jw wrlh nW |p