37. Mr. MALONEasked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the Returns of the Registrar-General showing that in the first quarter of this year the deaths recorded exceeded the births by 24,105, the deaths for the most part being due to the influenza epidemic; whether he is aware that in the Midlands in the first week of March the death-rate from influenza alone, not including derivative diseases, reached the figure of 9.67 per 1,000; and whether any research into this disease has been undertaken by the Medical Research Council during the past year or is being undertaken or contemplated by the council at the present time?
§ Sir K. WOODThe returns issued by the Registrar-General show that in the first quarter of this year the deaths in 107 great towns in England and Wales exceeded the births by 25,108. The deaths numbered 111,003, influenza being certified as one of the causes of death in 12,711 cases. No similar figures are yet available for the country as a whole. The death-rate from influenza quoted in the second part of the question relates only to the great towns in the Midlands. As regards the last part of the question, I am informed that the Medical Research Council are actively promoting researches into the group of diseases to which influenza is believed to belong.