Studies on Epidemic Influenza: Comprising Clinical and Laboratory InvestigationsUniversity of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine
History
Studies on Epidemic Influenza: Comprising Clinical and Laboratory Investigations
University of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine
Influenza; Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919
2. Nurses on duty in hospitals everywhere suffered greatly from
influenza, and those of Pittsburgh were no exception. Some of the
hospitals vaccinated the nurses during the epidemic and some did not,
and it was hoped that by getting a week-by-week comparison of the number
of cases among vaccinated and non-vaccinated nurses some reliable data
would be obtained. A circular letter sent to all of the hospitals in the
community contained a blank asking for the number of nurses, date of
appearance of the epidemic, use of vaccine, dates of inoculations, and
for a week-by-week occurrence of influenza in each group. Only 7
hospitals complied with the request, and of them only 5 sent complete
data. Complete reports were received from the Allegheny General,
Columbia, Presbyterian, South Side and St. Francis Hospitals. Of a total
of 336 nurses in these 5 institutions, 38 developed influenza in the
first week, 48 in the second, 39 in the third, 43 in the fourth, and 45
subsequent to the fourth week, making a total of 213—a morbidity of 63
per cent. The Mercy and St. Margaret’s Hospitals reported the total
number of nurses and the occurrence of influenza among them, and adding
in their reports there were 521 nurses on duty in 7 hospitals, with 257
cases of influenza, giving a morbidity rate of 50 per cent.; 28 cases of
pneumonia and 11 deaths, giving a 2 per cent. mortality rate. The total
figures from hospitals where vaccines were used are against vaccination,
due partly to the fact that vaccination was started late. In these
hospitals the morbidity was 66 per cent. and the death rate 3 per cent.
In the hospitals where vaccines were not used the morbidity rate was 20
per cent. and the death rate 1.2 per cent. No dependable data was
obtained, but the report from the South Side Hospital was interesting.
Of 60 nurses on duty, 36 had influenza and 2 died. Of this number 19
were stricken the first week. Three days after the first cases were
admitted to the hospital vaccination was begun, and was given to most of
the nurses still on duty. Of those taking vaccines 20 developed
influenza and 1 died during the period of immunization, but after the
inoculations were completed there were no more cases in either group.
During the epidemic it was said that benefit was derived from the use of
vaccines on nurses at the West Penn Hospital, but the writer was unable
to obtain a report from this institution. The collected data on nurses
was useless, though it is interesting, in that it shows the possibility
of making figures prove almost anything you want them to prove.
_Series III. Those Instances in Which Vaccination Was Begun After the
Epidemic Appeared, and in Which Comparisons of Total Figures Only Are
Available_
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