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133
Incidence and Mortality from Diphtheria.
Since the year 1935, when diphtheria immunisation was begun
in Leyton, over 25,000 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 1953: and the number of deaths from 8 in 1935 to 0 in 1953.
In the last five years only one Leyton child has been notified to
be suffering from diphtheria, and for the sixth year in succession
no Leyton child has died from the disease.

*Provisional.
The number of children immunised under local authority
arrangements (including those immunised by the family doctors
for which records were received by the local authority) from the
beginning of 1940 to the 30th June, 1953,. was 10,569,796 (21,485
in Leyton). During the first half of 1953, 270,584 (688 Leyton)
children were immunised, of whom 103,123 (347 Leyton) were
under one year of age.
The object of the campaign remains the same : to secure
immunisation of not less than 75 per cent. of babies before their
first birthday. Having regard to the birthrate during 1953, the
immunisation objective for 1954 is 498,000 children under one
year. Only 28 per cent. of the number of babies reaching the age
of one year in 1951 were immunised ; in 1952 the figure rose to
31 per cent. but in the first half of 1953 it improved only to 31.5
per cent. This is still a disturbingly low figure.