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Early recourse to medical assistance is desirable in every
case, both for the determination of the real nature of the
disease and for the prevention of the more serious complications.
A most important memorandum has been issued by the
Medical Officer of the Local Government Board at the time of
writing, and been produced as the result of questions in Parliament,
addressed to Ministers, on the subject of a very fatal outbreak
at the end of 1894 and beginning of 1895, and is here
set out.
MEMORANDUM ON EPIDEMIC INFLUENZA.
Influenza became epidemic in England in the winter of
1889-90; it recurred in epidemic form in the spring of 1891, and
was maintained up to June of that year; a third epidemic took
place in the winter of 1891-92, and after a minor recrudescence
in the spring of 1893, a fifth prevalence on a wide scale took
place in the winter of 1893-94. England is now passing through
a sixth epidemic period. Two detailed reports have been issued
by the Board on the subject. The first was Dr. Parsons, "On
the Influenza Epidemic of 1889-90," with an introduction by Sir
George Buchanan, M.D., F.R.S., the Board's Medical Officer
at that date. The second was a "Further Report on Epidemic
Influenza, 1889-92," by Dr. Parsons, with papers on the Clinical
and Pathological aspects of the Disease, by Dr. Klein, F.R.S.,
and an introduction by myself.
A "Provisional Memorandum upon Precautions advisable
at times when Epidemic Influenza threatens, or is prevalent,"
was also drawn up by me in January, 1892, and was issued by
the Board to local sanitary authorities.
The further study made by the Medical Department as to
the natural history of Influenza, and as to its clinical and