Medicine: The Flu

Is there a new flu epidemic in the U.S.? There are a lot of sniffles and backaches. No, said the U.S. Public Health Service, no epidemic yet—but there is a definite “increase.” Some evidence:

¶ There were 5,240 cases reported fortnight ago; last week there were 13,220.

¶ 25% of the school children in Chicago, 20-30% of those in Des Moines, 20% of those in Kansas City stayed home from school, most of them with “respiratory infections.”

¶ Some or all schools were closed in Chicago, nearby Melrose Park, Kankakee (Ill.), Tuckahoe (N.Y.), many Ohio towns. Radford (Va.).

¶ New York City has slightly more flu than last year; upstate New York has alot more.

According to Rockefeller Foundation researchers, this year’s flu is less mild than in the 1943 epidemic. It makes people “pretty sick.” The Army’s new flu vaccine (which cuts cases 75%) will soon be available to civilians. Cost of a shot: around $2.50.