Only 49 Chapel Hill Students Had Flu This Year, March 7, 1920

From The Tar Heel, Chapel Hill, N.C., March 7, 1920

Influenza Disappears From Student Body. . . Total Cases Among Students Reached 49

“There are no cases of influenza among the students at the University of North Carolina,” Dr. Eric A. Abernethy, the University physician, said today. “At the present time five students are on the sick list. Two have minor injuries received in basketball, one has the mumps, and two have ear trouble but not serious enough to keep them off classes.

“Since January 1^st,” Dr. Abernethy continued, “there have been 49 cases of influenza among the 1,400 students. All of them are now well. That number includes every student who had a rise in temperature if just for one day. Eleven cases during the past two months developed into serious influenza and two into pneumonia. The largest number sick at any time was 17, the largest number of new cases in any one day was two. There was never at any time any influenza situation as such.”

Outside the University, in Chapel Hill, in Carrboro, which adjoins and in the surrounding country influenza spread widely though it is now pronounced to be rapidly decreasing. Five deaths have been reported form the county near Chapel Hill.

Precautions were taken in Chapel Hill and in the University to keep influenza from getting a start. The Chapel Hill graded school was closed for 10 days. Churches and moving picture shows were discontinued, and all gatherings were discouraged. One basketball game was postponed. Efforts were made to keep the students from leaving town as the medical authorities thought they might bring influenza back with them. To these precautions University authorities attribute the fact that the health record since the first of the year has not been abnormal.