London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Heston and Isleworth 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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surprising. As far as the present work goes, it seems likely that the introduction of A.P.T.
(Lilly) did not advance the efficiency of our immunisation procedure.
At this point it will be of interest to tabulate the results over the number of years in which we were using T.A.M. (Burroughs Wellcome) practically exclusively as the antigen. These results are based on thousands of Schick positive cases. Below are given the bare figures obtained with A.P.T. (Lilly) which will be discussed more fully later.
| Prophylactic and dose. | Makers. | Percentage rendered Schick-negative in three-6 months. | Percentage of undesirable reaction. |
|---|---|---|---|
| T.A.M. 1—1—1 c.c. | Burroughs Wellcome | 88.2% | 2.2% |
| T.A.M. 1—1—1 -5. | „ | 95.0% | |
| T.A.M. 1—1 -5—1 -5 | „ | 97.1% | |
| A.P.T. 0.5 | Eli Lilly | 77.8% | 6.4% |
| A.P.T. 0.2 and 0.5 (14 days inter. | „ | 92.4% |
Details of the A.P.T. Work.
| Natural Schick negative rate of whole group on which both A.P.T. experiments were made | 9.05 |
| Primary Schick tests on these children :— | |
| Schick-positive | 653 |
| Schick-negative | 65 |
Results of the Single Injection of 0.5 c.c. of Lilly A.P.T.
| (Re-tests performed from 4 to 6 months after injection). | |
| Average age of the Schick positive children in the group | 4.42 years |
| Number re-tested to date | 202 cases |
| Re-Schick negative | 157 cases |
| Re-Schick positive | 45 cases |
| Percentage of success | 77.8% |
| Average age of children not successfully immunised | 6.25 years |
Results of Two Injections of Lilly A.P.T 0.2 and 0.5 at 14 days interval.
| (Re-tests performed from 4 to 6 months after last injection). | |
| Average age of Schick-positive children in the group | 3.97 years |
| Number re-tested to date | 119 cases |
| Re-Schick negative | 110 cases |
| Re-Schick positive | 9 cases |
| Percentage of success | 92.44% |
| Average age of children not successfully immunised | 4.33 years |
From the foregoing figures it will be observed that the single injection procedure is far
from satisfactory. 77.8% of success only, is an unsound figure on which to base any immunological
campaign. The two injection method yielded relatively better results at 92.44%, but
that figure can not at present be regarded as comparing too favourably with the 97.1% of success
obtained by the use of three injections of T.A.M. (B.W.&Co.) in a dosage of 1 c.c., 1.5 c.c. and
1.5 c.c. at 14 day intervals. The sole advantage of the A.P.T. is that the routine course of
treatment requires one less injection than the T.A.M. course.
Reactions to A.P.T. injections.
All important is the question of how much reaction is produced in the arms of children
as a result of any injection.
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