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1918
8
credence were the food shortage and alcoholic shortage, more
especially whiskey. It is not explained how these affected
people in the most vigorous years of their lives.
The universal prevalence of the disease is sufficient to
refute these theories. Its name, as suggesting the country of
its origin—Spanish Influenza, should have been sufficient to
show that food regulations had no connection with its causation.
Food and fruit have been plentiful in Spain during the war.
No part of the earth seems to have escaped the epidemic.
Countries far removed from the seat of war have suffered far
more severely than this country has.
South Africa suffered severely and in India the deaths
were nearly five millions. In two islands of the Samoan
group nearly '20 per cent, of the population succumbed ; out of
a total population of 37,000 there were over 7,000 deaths.
Severe as the outbreak was in this country its mortality
bore no comparison with that of the epidemic in these
countries. .From October 12th to December, 1918, the deaths
in the 9G great towns registered as due to Influenza were
44,">37. These towns had a population of over 16$ million
inhabitants and the death-rate was 269 per 100,000 inhabitants. '
Higher rates, over 400 per 100,000 occurred during thispeiiod
in some of these great towns. The death-rate from Influenza
in Acton during the same period was about 300 per 100,000
inhabitants.
We are informed that this outbreak has been identical,
both in itself and its complications, including pneumonia, with
that in 1890. In view of this statement, it is interesting to
look up the records of that epidemic in Acton and compare it
with the present one. The epidemic made its appearance
towards the end of December, 1889, and retained its virulence
until the beginning cf 1890. During the height- of the
epidemic the temperature of the air was alternately warm and
cold, the earth saturated with moisture, and the atmosphere
damp, foggyjand stagnant. No actual death occurred from
Influenza itself, but it is probable that it was the primary
cause of some deaths attributed to diseases of the respiratory
organs.
With the exception of the atmospheric conditions the
former epidemic had very little in common with the present one.