Flu Epidemic

Hits The Cook

Islands

From W. H. Percival, on Raroton More than three-quarters

Rarotonga’s population of 8,00

plus many people on Aituta and Penryhn Island, were vi tims of an influenza epideir which reached the Cook Islan

in August.

THE epidemic hit Rarotonga af a period of chilling southe] winds and record low temperatui early in the month.

The temperature at Rarotonga’s a strip on one occasion dropped to 4* degrees; and old-time residents agre that the cold spell was the sever they had ever experienced on t island.

On August 6, 244 of Terec College’s 440 students were confin to their homes with the flu. Sev Tereora teachers also went down w it, and the college was closed.

The Teachers’ Training College s fered 60 casualties; and three do later most of Rarotonga’s schools ported that more than half of thi pupils and many of their teacht were absent. As a result, all scho< were closed for almost a week.

Resurgence

The staffs of trading stores a Government departments were aj drastically reduced for about a we< and the Health Department said tl about 500 people were receiving da medical attention both at home a in hospital.

On Monday, August 16, the scho< re-opened, but a resurgence of the closed them two days later for I remainder of the week.

During the previous weekend, th<j had been one death due to comj cations of the flu and, by August most of Rarotonga’s 8,000 inhabitai had been down with a bout of Doctors visited between 6,000 s 7,000 people, some of them be; repeat cases.

All dances, public meetings, s Rugby and basketball matches w\ cancelled and all cinemas were clos; Schools were also closed Aitutaki and Penrhyn.