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Show GASSING "FLU" GERMS. A discovery reported from London may become a matter of profound interest in-terest in this country. Thus far wo have seen no mention in the daily-press daily-press of a method now in Chune of development in England whereby influenza in-fluenza gerni9 are "gassed." The British medical men who havo interested inter-ested thom.-vrdves in this system express ex-press their belief that it may eventually even-tually grow into a certain preventive of tho influenza and diseases of the nose and throat. Dispatches from England indicate that, whilo thero is a recurrence of the influenza this 3'ear, it appears to be of a much milder form than that which took so heavy a toll last year. Deaths from pneumonia, which very often follow upon influenza, aro also reported to bo less in number. Meantime, experiments with tho new method of prevention and treatment are being carried out. This method had its beginning during an epidemic of cerebrospinal fever when it was found that if; the population of a camp were passed through daily an inhaling room where the air was kept charged with droplets of a solution of zinc sulphate tho incidence of the disease was checked. Following upon that observation, a certain Dr. Gregor noted that a class of industrial employees who workod in an atmosphere charged with a small amount either of nitrous oxide or sulphur sul-phur dioxide gas exhibited wdiat the British Medical Journal calls "a relative rela-tive immunity" to influenza at a tinno when fellow-employees who wero not working beside these gases were heavily attacked. Dr. Gregor found that the air in the rooms wdiore, the gaivjs were was distinctly bactericidal, yet quite satisfactory for breathing. Tho British medical research committee com-mittee has taken the matter up and providod Dr. Gregor with assistance. It is evident that if gas could be admitted ad-mitted to the atmosphere of workrooms during epidemics of influenza or other infectious conditions of tho nose, throat and bronchial tubes, and if thereby the spread of these diseases were checked, an important advance in preventive medicine would have been made. |