Medicine: Influenza

Since late November influenza has been increasing throughout western Europe at so alarming a rate that public health officials have come to fear a pandemic, a world-wide occurrence of this disease, such as happened in 1918-19. Already Switzerland, Germany England and France have been severely hit. At Nantes, France, the undertakers reported last week that they were four days behind with their burials. Their crogue-morts* complained of sore feet and demanded subsidy for new shoes. In Italy the authorities claimed they have no epidemic. But no gloss was smeared over the situation...

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