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18
The following is a statement of the work carried out during
the year:—
Number of sessions held 50
Number of attendances 1,702
Number of new cases 437
A similar procedure to that in the previous years has
been adhered to, viz.: Each new patient was Schick tested,
and the result read the following week. If the result was
positive—that is, if the child showed a susceptibility to
Diphtheria—he or she then received three injections of an
immunising mixture at weekly intervals. (The material used
was "Toxoid-Antitoxin Mixture," prepared by Messrs.
Burroughs and Wellcome). Three months later the child was
asked to attend again, and was then re-tested by the Schick
method. Practically every child then gave a negative reaction
to the re-test, thus showing the previous susceptibility was
no longer present, and that the child could now be regarded
as immune.
In those few cases which showed a persistent positive
reaction after three months, one further injection was given
of the Toxoid-Antitoxin, and a further test after one month
showed that the reaction was now negative. In no case was
there any constitutional disturbance reported by parents as a
result of these injections.