§ Mr. Jannerasked the Minister of Health what are his present plans for the acceleration of research into the causes and cure of the common cold and influenza; and whether he can give any estimate of the number of working hours lost through these complaints during the past five years.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodBasic study in the Common Cold Research Unit continues, but acceleration must await expansion of our knowledge of the directions it can profitably take. As to influenza, a controlled trial of two vaccines selected by a committee of the Medical Research Council will be carried out on some 15,000 volunteers this winter and plans have been made by my Department in conjunction with the World Health Organisation Influenza Centre at176W the National Institute for Medical Research, for an intensive investigation into the spread of the disease.