View report page

Consultations regarding infectious disease,
between the Medical Officer of Health and the
local medical profession-12.
Diphtheria Immunisation.
The Medical Research Council published a
special report on the epidemiology of diphtheria
during the last 40 years by W.T. Russell, D.Sc.,
from which certain paragraphs were presented to
the Public Health Committee in September. The
conclusions of Dr. Russell's report are Irrefutable
statistically. There is very strong
evidence that immunisation, particularly since
the inclusion of the pre-school children, has
reduced the morbidity and the mortality from
diphtheria in New York City and in Toronto.
The statistical incidence of diphtheria in these
cities in the best immunisation period is
significantly better than might have been
expected from the trend of morbidity and mortality
in the pre-immunisation period. According
to past experience the disease had a periodicity
of 6 years in New York and of 4 years in Toronto.
On this basis there should have been epidemics
in both cities between 1930 and 1940 but none
has occurred. The best explanation of this
absence is that the Health Authorities in both
cities by artificially immunising the school
and pre-school children have prevented the
occurrence of the epidemics.
While the number of children who have
received immunisation treatment in Wembley has
been considerably increased in the last few
years, it is to be emphasised that there is still
a number of children not protected from diphtheria,
a serious but assuredly preventible
disease.
32.