It seems to have escaped the notice of those who have published notes on the prevailing epidemic of influenza that a large nunmber of patients supposed to be suffering from that disease are in reality suffering from nasal diphtheria.
Feeling convinced that the heavy mortality during the epidemic could not be due to influenza pure and simple, I began to examine certain cases for nasal diphtheria, and found that many cases from which I took nasal swabs gave positive results. In many a provisional diagnosis of influenza had been made, and they were apparently convalesent when the swabs were taken. Others, at the onset, showed signs which indicated the trouble, and in others again the swabs were taken almost at random from patients who walked into my surgery complaining of " infuenza " and not apparently very ill. All the swabswere examnined for me at one of two recognized pathological laboratories.
...and I am persuaded that a large number of the deaths recorded as being due to influenza during the present epidemic were due to diphtheria. Some show a tendency to make light of nasal diphtheria, but there can be no doubt that it is a condition which is fraught with grave danger not only to the patient, but also to others with whom he may come into contact, and it is all the more dangerous because, as I gather, there are comparatively few practitioners who look for it.
Some years ago there was in this town an epidemic of mumps. In all cases that came under my notice I took swabs, and in many proved that the real cause of the swelling of the glands was diphtheria.
It would be interesting to know whether in those post-mortem examinations Dr. Spilsbury examined the nasal fossae, and, if so, whether he examined them for the presence of the Bacillus diphtheriae.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2340558
Feeling convinced that the heavy mortality during the epidemic could not be due to influenza pure and simple, I began to examine certain cases for nasal diphtheria, and found that many cases from which I took nasal swabs gave positive results. In many a provisional diagnosis of influenza had been made, and they were apparently convalesent when the swabs were taken. Others, at the onset, showed signs which indicated the trouble, and in others again the swabs were taken almost at random from patients who walked into my surgery complaining of " infuenza " and not apparently very ill. All the swabswere examnined for me at one of two recognized pathological laboratories.
...and I am persuaded that a large number of the deaths recorded as being due to influenza during the present epidemic were due to diphtheria. Some show a tendency to make light of nasal diphtheria, but there can be no doubt that it is a condition which is fraught with grave danger not only to the patient, but also to others with whom he may come into contact, and it is all the more dangerous because, as I gather, there are comparatively few practitioners who look for it.
Some years ago there was in this town an epidemic of mumps. In all cases that came under my notice I took swabs, and in many proved that the real cause of the swelling of the glands was diphtheria.
It would be interesting to know whether in those post-mortem examinations Dr. Spilsbury examined the nasal fossae, and, if so, whether he examined them for the presence of the Bacillus diphtheriae.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2340558