New Yorks Governments Response to Influenza Outbreak :: Journalism Media Studies Spanish Flu Essays

New York's Government's Response to Influenza Outbreak NEW YORK CITY (September 22):--Forty-three new cases of Spanish influenza were reported yesterday throughout the greatly afflicted state of New York. Of these new cases, eighteen were in Brooklyn, three were reported in the Bronx, eighteen in Manhattan, and four were reported in Queens. There appears to be little progress for New Yorkers and East Coast Americans in general, in their attempt to quell the spread of the disease. As such, public fears continue to be heightened by a steady increase in the number of both the infected and the deceased persons who have been subjected to this outbreak of Spanish influenza. In response to this latest outbreak, the United States government has been monitoring the increasingly grave statistics that have been pouring into the national office of the Public Health Department. 1 United States Surgeon General Blue, an obviously key figure in the American government's attempt to treat and eradicate the influenza, informed reporters yesterday that a more stringent plan for combating the disease had become necessary and that therefore he was announcing the immediate implementation of such a plan. Said the Surgeon General, "The people of New York are in great need of further assistance than that which local authorities are currently capable of providing. Hospitals throughout the state are inadequately staffed for the huge number of patients they are receiving, and as such many a hospital is filled beyond capacity with countless influenza patients. We as a government must take stronger measures to inform the public of the dangers of Spanish Influenza, instruct them as to how to decrease their risk of contracting the illness, and must also allocate more funds to the U.S. Health Department so that it may better aid New York's overworked medical staffs." 2 The Surgeon General next proceeded to caution the public against falling victim to mass hysteria over the currently rampant influenza scare. When asked by a local reporter as to whether U.S. scientists were making any progress in determining the cause of the current outbreak, Surgeon General Blue was quick to acknowledge the fact that many cultures from influenza patients are currently being studied in various laboratories throughout the United States. More significantly, the Surgeon General announced that a new microorganism had recently been discovered, which scientists hope will prove to be the culprit for the U.