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Diphtheria Immunisation.—During 1937 an extra day
each week was allotted for immunisation owing to the large
number of names on the waiting list. This number has now
been so considerably reduced that a single weekly session has
been resumed. It is a matter of regret that there are not more
applicants for immunisation. The Clinic meets at the Hayes
Cottage Hospital on Saturday mornings; during the year 78
sessions and 3,488 attendances were recorded, and 576 certificates
of immunity were issued.
Dr. Bousfield's report on immunisation during 1937 is as
follows:—
" We received some 18 months ago some literature based on
work done in Scotland which seemed to indicate that a certain
brand of Alum-precipitated toxoid was vastly superior to other
makes on the market. The inference was that this particular
brand could be used as a single injection with every prospect of
good results. A quantity of this brand of A.P.T., made by the
Mulford Laboratories in the U.S.A., was accordingly procured
from Messrs. Sharp and Dohme Ltd.
It was decided to immunise two groups of children by different
methods for comparison, the first group by a single injection,
as advocated by the manufacturers of the product, the second
by means of two injections at fortnightly intervals, a method
which had previously given reliable results with other brands
of A.P.T.
All the children in the two series mentioned were demonstrated
to be Schick positive, or susceptible to diphtheria, before the
inoculations were given.
The figures are given below. It is quite clear that method 1
is too unreliable and therefore not suitable for employment in
our area.
Method 1. Schick positive children immunised with a single
injection of 0.5 c.c. of Mulford A.P.T. Re-tests from 3 to 5
months after injection.
Number re-tested to date 422
Numberre-Schicknegative 290
NumberstillSchickpositive1 32
Percentage of failure to immunise by this
method 31.2
All the above failures received further treatment, and will
be re-tested at a later date. 79 of these failures who were
re-immunised have now been re-tested, and 77 have been shown
to have become immune.
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