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60
Diphtheria Immunisation.—During the year your Council
determined to give facilities for immunisation against Diphtheria
and the work was begun both at the infectious Disease Clinic and
at two children's institutions in the Borough. Immunisation
proved very successful at both institutions and it was very significant
that each reported only one case of diphtheria after the
commencement of Immunisation. Both patients were not immunised
at the time owing to parental refusal.
The scheme in operation was briefly as follows:—All children
over the age of five years are first of all Schick tested and the results
read on the third day. Immunisation is advised in all Schick
positive cases over 5 years of age and in all children between one
and five years of age.
Three weekly doses of toxin-antitoxin mixture are given subcutaneously
and a Schick test is done in every case one month after
the last injection. Up to the end of the year 36 cases had completed
the course of injections and in each case the resultant Schick test
was negative.
In one case immunised, a suspicious sore throat was notified as
? Diphtheria. After investigation, however, it proved to be a
streptococcal throat clinically and bacteriologically. As a result of
a virulence test the diphtheria-like germs which were also present
in the throat were proved to be non-virulent.