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109
Incidence and Mortality from Diphtheria.

Since the year 1935, when diphtheria immunisation was begun
in Leyton, over 24,000 children in the area have been immunised
against diphtheria. During that time the annual number of persons
notified to be suffering from diphtheria has fallen from 276 in 1935
to 0 in 1952 : and the number of deaths from 8 in 1935 to 0 in 1952.
In the last five years only six Leyton children have been notified
to be suffering from diphtheria, and for the fifth year in succession
no Leyton child has died from the disease.
Nevertheless diphtheria remains one of the deadly diseases of
infancy. Even when not fatal, it may give rise to very serious
complications ; and the wise parent should seek protection of his/her
child by immunisation. Fresh air, good food and cleanliness will
prevent many diseases, but they cannot protect a child against
diphtheria.
So great has been the success of the campaign for protection
against diphtheria that we now have a generation of young parents
who may never have seen or heard of a case of the disease among
their own or their neighbours' children, and are more afraid of the
illnesses they know than of diphtheria. The very success of
immunisation is tending to make parents wonder if it is still necessary
to have their babies immunised. The object of the campaign
remains the same—to secure the immunisation of at least 75 per
cent, of babies, and the elimination of the disease depends on the
maintenance of a sufficiently high percentage of immunised children
in the community.