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VACCINATION AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS
This procedure, known to everyone now as B.C.G. vaccination,
introduced in Barking in 1954, has now become an integral
part of the School Medical Service.
The response by the parents in this area has remained consistently
good and we are pleased to report that our acceptance
rate in Barking is one of the highest in the County.
All the doctors in your service are qualified to carry out this
school service and our results show a valuable adjunct tn preventive
medicine.
The splendid co-operation with the Chest Clinic for consultation
in doubtful cases and subsequent follow-up when necessary
has greatly added to our feeling of a job well done.
During the current year B.C.G. vaccination was again offered
to all 13 year old children and any others over that age who had
not previously availed themselves of our offer. Below are statistics
relating to this service:-
Number to whom offered 1,607
Number tuberculin tested after parents'
consent had been received 1,215
Positive result 88
Negative result 1,127
Number who received B.C.G. 1,127
Students of the South-East Essex Technical College were
again invited to participate although only 31 accepted. Of this
number 6 had positive reactions and the remaining 25 received
B.C.G.
It is of interest to note that the clinical trials conducted b1
the Medical Research Council during the past ten years into the
efficacy of B.C.G. vaccination were concluded in 1960.
These trials started in 1950 when several hundred senior
Barking school children were included with many other children
drawn from other areas in the scheme as volunteers. Throughout
the succeeding ten years their health has been closely watched by
the staff of the Medical Research Council, often with considerable
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