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24
Diphtheria.
The incidence of Diphtheria continues to fall, the
number of cases being 43 compared with 67 for the preceding
year. When the public realise, what is now a
proven fact, that immunisation is an almost certain preventive,
this disease will disappear.
Schick Testing and Immunisation.
Immunisation against Diphtheria is taken advantage
of more and more as time goes on. In 1942 there has
been an intensification of the propaganda which has been
helped very largely by the personal broadcasts of the
Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health. The
results will no doubt convince the unbelieving that this
method of prevention is the only reliable procedure
for eliminating Diphtheria. The few who have been
immunised and who develop the disease, all present minor
manifestations and invariably recover without leaving
permanent "damage.
In the early days of Immunisation it was considered
necessary to Schick test children over the age of six and,
if found positive, they underwent a course of Immunisation
and were subsequently retested in order to ascertain
whether they had attained immunity. Owing to the
improved methods in the technique in the preparation of
the antigen, it is found that the percentage of those
treated who become immune is so high that it is unnecessary
to perform a Schick test subsequently. There are,
however, occasionally circumstances which indicate that
a test should be performed, but this rarely occurs. Children
who have been immunised in very early life should, to
give them adequate protection, receive a "boosting"
dose on admission to school.
The number of children who completed a course of
Immunisation during 1941 was 1,561.