Medicine: Epidemics

Issued by the U. S. Public Health Service last week was a report on the prevalence of communicable diseases. So far in 1938 there have been fewer cases than usual of influenza (off 87% from last year, 50% from 1935 and 1936), meningitis (off 30% from the five-year average), scarlet fever (off 10% from the five-year average), diphtheria (up from last year but below the average). Diseases of which there are epidemics:

Typhoid and paratyphoid fever (comparatively rare) are 10% more prevalent than usual, due mainly to cases in Louisiana and Texas.

Smallpox, of which...