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53
"As to the nature of the poison by which Influenza is produced in man, and even
amongst horses and other cattle, little is known. That in effect it exhibits many of the
recognised qualities of the zymotic poisons is a subject of observation, and no doubt can be
entertained that it is microbic in kind. The Italians in the eighteenth century ascribed
the disease to the influence of the stars: a power from the celestial bodies was supposed
to operate on the minds and bodies of men. It received the name of the 'Influence,' or,
in the Italian language, the 'Influenza,' a term now generally adopted in this country.
The malady, however, in scientific treatises, is more correctly described as 'Catarrhal
Fever.' The disease is reported to have prevailed in 1729, 1732, 1737, 1742, 1758, 1762,
1767, 1775, and 1782, reappearing in 1803, 1833, 1837, and 1847. In some of the epidemic
years the mortality was large; in others, the attack was milder in type. It is generally
estimated that in 2 per cent. of the persons infected the illness has a fatal termination;
but in some visitations, when the disease assumes a pernicious type, the mortality rises to
5, 7, or even 10 per cent. There have been differences of opinion as to the manner in
which the contagion is spread. Some people assert that it is carried from place to
place by the movement of aerial currents, and that neither seas nor mountains—the
natural barriers of human intercourse—arrest its course. In support of this contention are
instanced reported cases of the incidence of the disease among the crews of ships in
transit, and supposed to be removed from all communication with the land. From this
cause, it is stated that a British squadron in the year 1782 was completely disabled
whilst on service off the French coast. And more recent examples are recorded, where
the crews of vessels have been attacked in mid seas. But the records of these isolated
cases do not furnish undeniable evidence of the aerial source of the infection. On the
contrary, in all investigated cases, it is considered as probable that the contagion was
shipped with the stores, or introduced through the ordinary channels of human intercourse.
The latest investigations demonstrate conclusively that the disease, in its invasion from
east to west, follows the lines of trade and traffic. From its home in Central Asia, the
disease, traversing the caravan routes, invades Russia and Turkey. By rail it is conveyed
to the busy centres of Eastern and then of Western Europe. By ship it accompanies the
traveller to the Northern and Southern continents of America. W hen established in the
great centres of commerce, it spreads in the adjacent and outlying districts. The epidemic