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15
17th December, 1918. Before this date two cases were voluntarily
notified to the Medical Officer of Health. The first case
was notified on the 2nd May, the patient being a man 34 years
of age, and the symptoms being typical, and the second on the
20th June, the patient being a man 68 years of age. In the latter
case the diagnosis was not free from doubt.
Recovery took place in the former case, but an early fatal
termination in the latter.
Influenza.
Influenza became epidemic in Ealing in the beginning of
July, an idea of the prevalence of the disease being given by the
Weekly Returns of children absent from school. During July
959 children were noted as being absent on account of Influenza,
though most of the cases occurred during the first half of the
month. The disease was of a mild character, the children recovering
with remarkable rapidity. Adults also were affected,
but enquiries led one to the belief that the outbreak owed its
spread to the schools, children being affected more than adults.
In the month of June no deaths from Influenza were registered
in the Borough, but in July four were registered in the week ending
the 15th, and two in the week ending the 31st July. Thus,
although the disease was very prevalent during this month among
the school children, no deaths occurred amongst them, and only
six occurred amongst adults.
Towards the end of July the outbreak subsided and few cases
occurred until October. In August only one death, a female,
33 years of age, was recorded, and in September, none. From
the 1st June to September 30th seven deaths occurred altogether.
A recrudescence of the epidemic was experienced in the second
week of October in the Northfields Area, Northfields School being
chiefly affected. From here it quickly spread during the following
week to Lammas School and to Little Ealing and Junction
Road Schools, taking in the whole of the south-western area of
the Borough. In the next week the schools, as a whole, became
affected to such an extent that the closure of all was recommended
for ten days. At the time of closure the children absent from
school numbered 2,777 out of 7,642 on the rolls, or 35 per cent
of the elementary school population.