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cases in which, in the course of the investigation, some suspicion of
Syphilis was raised in connexion with the illness which terminated
fatally. In none of these ten cases, however, is there evidence of
any value to show that Syphilis was communicated by vaccination;
possibly five of them were cases of inherited syphilis. The other
five were certainly not cases of Syphilis at all.
Turning now to the non-fatal cases investigated by medical
men on our behalf, we have had brought to our knowledge with a
view to such investigation twenty-six non-fatal cases where Syphilis
was alleged to have been, or as to some few of the cases possibly
to have been, communicated by vaccination. One of these
twenty-six cases could not be traced by the medical men whom
we asked to investigate it. It had been reported to us, with
twenty-one of the other twenty-five cases, by a gentleman whose
only information as to the case, obtained from a relative of the
child's, was that "the child had a frightful arm, and broke out
badly everywhere, and was a very long time of getting better."
The remaining twenty-five cases were, however, carefully investigated
on our behalf, some by Dr. Barlow, some by Dr. Acland,
and fifteen of them by those gentlemen jointly. In twenty-four of
the twenty-five there is no evidence that Syphilis was communicated
by vaccination ; indeed, none of the twenty-four were cases
of Syphilis at all. In the remaining case it appears that there was
some ground for the allegation, though it is by no means proved
that syphilis was communicated by vaccination, or even that the
case was one of syphilis at all. The case, brought to our notice
in 1892, was that of a boy born in 1880 and vaccinated in the
following year. When examined on our behalf in September,
1892, he presented no unmistakable signs of having suffered from
syphilis, either inoculated or inherited. The length of time which
had elapsed, and the absence of any record, made it impossible to
trace the source of lymph. The history of the boy's illness is
extremely uncertain, but upon the whole, if it can be relied upon
at all, it tends to render some support to the view that Syphilis
was communicated by vaccination or by contamination of the
vaccination wounds.