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attempt was made to prevent its spread by the printing and
distribution of posters and handbills, giving an account of
the general methods which experience has shown are useful
in preventing infection from similar diseases. The handbills
were distributed among the principal firms in the
Borough, and the posters were exhibited in conspicuous
places. To prevent a fatal issue, the Council gave instructions
to call in the assistance of the district nurses in severe
cases of pneumonia. Notwithstanding these efforts the
mortality was very high. On the chief question of prevention
innumerable disinfectants and prophylactics have been
suggested in the daily press and elsewhere, but the fact that
they were so numerous shows that none of them are of any
great value. Two, however, found a little more prominence
than the rest, namely the employment of a vaccine, and the
question of face masks. It seems to me that now that the
organism has been discovered that the manufacture of a
vaccine is only a matter of time, and beyond such measures
as keeping fit, the greatest hope of prevention lies, in my
opinion, in the provision of a suitable vaccine. The question
of the advisability or otherwise of wearing masks has been
largely canvassed in the public press, the agitation in their
favour being led by the medical correspondent of 'The Times,'
who seems to think that there is no difficulty in completely
abolishing influenza by suitable measures, among which is
the wearing of masks during an epidemic by the general public.
I think, however, that medical authorities are more or
less agreed that for general use the mask is very little of a
preventative. If the virus is so fine that it can pass through
a porcelain filter, there seems very little use putting on a
gauze mask; besides the mask itself is liable to become infected
with the virus, and if it is taken off there is very little
guarantee that it won't be put on again with the wrong side
out. It seems to me that for a mask to be of any use, one
should carry a dozen or two sterilized in their pockets, and
every time they take a mask off for speaking and eating,
put on a fresh one. This, of course, is possible in a hospital,
but it is not possible outside. lam afraid the British public
are little likely to adopt this measure, and I am sure that