Salt Lake Telegram | 1928-07-13 | Page 25 | Does Influenza Increase Toll of Tuberculosis?

INFLUENZA INCREASE i iI I I TOLL OF TUBERCULOSIS A i By DR MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia Hy- Hy geld geia the tho Health Magazine Since the tho great Influenza epidemic ot of 1918 and 1919 physicians ph and statisticIans have been attempting to the tho extent to which Lisa amount of tuberculosis was Increased In- In creased by the tho attacks on lung tissue tissue sue mado lIy by influenza They also have endeavored to determIne determine de- de termIne the extent to which persons per per- sons with tuberculosis suffered as compared with the tho amount suffered by those who did not have ha that die ease oase COMPLICATION A complete survey of the subject recently mado by the University of Chicago ago Indicates lI that influenza as any other Infectious disease Is nI n. n serIous complication ot of tuberculosIs II I and that a person who may be recovering re- re covering from flom the disease when afflicted afflicted af- af with Influenza ma may have his I tuberculosis lu bercu reactivated va tt However there has not been an increase ot of the death rates from tuberculosis In the years yem's following the tho influenza epIdemic The question as to whether persons per per- er- er sons who are aro attacked with Influenza enza are alO rendered more susceptible to Infection by tuberculosis Is most difficult to determine Many lire are likely to date dato the beginning of their first signs of tuberculosis to toan toan an attack of grip or Influenza The tact fact that the number ot of deaths front flom tuberculosis has not Increased since 1918 but indeed that Was It a decline ot of ul unusual usual size Ilze sin sinco co 1919 and 1920 would indicate that tho influenza not Important hint tant In predisposing persons to In in fee ion feet lion by tuberculosis No doubt persons who were mildly mildly mild mild- ly Infected with tuberculosis and who developed Influenza suffered red much uch moio than did normal persons and thereby were lIkely to relate their tuberculosis to tho attack of influenza On the other hand the fact that I tuberculosis has not Increased I greatly but Is continuing to decline ut at n a steady rate Is good evidence evl- evl dence that influenza does not In some somo peculiar manner make It more easy for a person to become infected infect infect- e ed with tubercle I