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8
month, and judging from returns I have obtained from many
of the medical practitioners in the district, it became general
during the first week in January, and increased up to about
the 20th, when it attained its height, and declined slowly until
the first week in February, after which cases were comparatively
rare. This course is about the same as in previous epidemics,
and the symptoms ran much the same, the attack being very
sudden, the fever being high, and either the nervous, respiratory,
or gastro-intestinal organs being chiefly affected. The
outbreak was preceded by a similar disease amongst horses and
oats, as well as to a smaller extent amongst dogs. These
animals were attacked as early as the beginning of October
in some stables, and the disease lasted for nine or ten weeks
until the end of November or first week in December. In
another very large stable it broke out on November 1st, reached
its highest point on November 25th, and ceased on December
22nd, having been later in the outbreak and shorter in duration
than in most other instances. The total number of deaths
from the disease up to March 15th, 1890, was 25, of whioh
one was returned as having occurred without complication ;
another from fever, two from syncope (heart disease), one from
croup, one from congestion of the brain, and 19 from
inflammatory diseases of the lungs. The list of deaths shows
that although the predominant local disease accompanying
influenza was inflammation of the lungs, yet that other organs
were sufficiently affected to have been the cause of death.
There were 3 deaths under 5 years of age; 2 between 5 and 20
years; 5 between 20 and 40 ; 6 between 40 and 60 ; and 9
above 60 years old. As many as 20 deaths occurred in
females, and only 5 in males. I have no return of the cases,
and, therefore, cannot say whether or not a greater number of
deaths in proportion to attacks occurred amongst females.
The first case, so far as I know, occurred on December 7th, the
first death on January 7th, 1890, and the last on April
30th, 1890. There has been a good deal of controversy as to