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118
among unvaccinated children had been at the same rate as
among the vaccinated, not 782, but nine deaths would have
happened.
In an Appendix to Dr. Buchanan's last Report, the
protective influence of vaccination is dealt with in the form of
an introduction to Dr. Barry's Report on an Epidemic of
Small-pox at Sheffield during 1887-88. In that town, with an
estimated population of 320,000, a vaccination census was made
under Dr Barry's direction during the continuance of the
epidemic, the result being to show that two per cent, of the
people were without the protection afforded by vaccination.
Small-pox death-rates were calculated for different ages,
between April, 1887, and March, 1888, and it is stated that
"the one fact" (as to protection conferred by vaccination)
"turns out to be uniformly the same, for sub-districts, for
locality, for infected house or institution, for age or for previous
health." Dr. Buchanan sets out the results of the enquiry as
follows:—
A. First of the children under 10 years of age living in Sheffield, during
1887-8, under the common conditions of the whole borough.
Per thousand of the number of children in each class :
The attack rate of the vaccinated was 5
The attack rate of the unvaccinated was 101
The death-rate of the vaccinated was 0.09
The death-rate of the unvaccinated was 44.0
Or to state the difference in other terms: For 100,000 vaccinated
children the rate of small-pox mortality actually observed in
Sheffield gives nine deaths; for 100,000 unvaccinated children
tne rate of small-pox mortality actually observed gives 4,400
deaths. Under the general circumstances of the Sheffield
epidemic, therefore, the vaccinated children had, as compared
with the unvaccinated children living in the town, a twenty-fold
immunity from attack by small-pox, and had a 480-fold security
against death by small-pox. The above relates to the general
children-population of the borough.