The Flu
A Brief History of Influenza in U.S. America, Europe, Hawaii
9781465640413
281 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
An infectious and contagious disease; most startling in its methods of sudden appearance and disappearance; its widely diffused and rapid spread is seen in no other disease; it has excited universal and general attention; physicians and scientists have been stimulated and fascinated whilst pursuing their investigations and studying the disease in its various phases, to wit: spread, incubation, differences of type, and the exact micro-organism which invades the system of man, and if there is more than one that enters together or separately. Discovery of the Bacillus. In the year 1892, Dr. Richard Pfeiffer, of the University of Breslau, Silesia, Prussia, discovered the specific microbe of Influenza, a Bacillus, which is generally accepted as being the cause of the disease; however, there are some physicians who dissent. It was found to be present in the lungs, bronchial mucous membrane, sputum and nasal discharge. It is one of the smallest of the known bacilli; measures about one micron long and a one-half micron in breadth. A micron is equal to 1
25,000 of an inch. The bacillus is found singly and in pairs, is non-motile. Domestic animals are not subject to the Flu, but monkeys and rabbits can be infected. Alleged Causes of the “Flu.” It has been attributed to numerous and varied agencies in the past. Philosophers, physicians and the people believed the disease to be due to supernatural phenomena.
