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home visits with the home nurses, health visitors and home help organisers. It is
hoped that this will give them a better understanding of their patients and a knowledge
of the importance of their home background. They see, also, something of
the services that are available to assist them outside hospital, and become aware of
the value and possibility of preventing illness or breakdown.
POLIOMYELITIS VACCINATION
By Dr. W. C. Cormack, Deputy Medical Officer of Health and Deputy Area Medical
Officer
Thursday, 10th May, 1956, saw the initiation of a new weapon in the fight
against infectious disease in this Area. On that day 200 children received their
first injection of "poliviron"—the vaccine to protect against poliomyelitis. Since
then the vaccination has proceeded as and when the material has been released by
the Ministry of Health. Nearly 8,000 children out of a registered total of 19,500
have now completed their course of injections without any untoward effect. The
extent of this scheme is limited only by the supply of vaccine. Thanks to the
stringent safety tests conducted by the Ministry, this vaccine can be considered as
completely safe and can be injected without fear of any harmful results.
How Effective is the Vaccine?
It is too early to say definitely, but preliminary reports indicate that the incidence
of paralytic poliomyelitis is very much less in children protected with the
vaccine.
How Long will the Protection Last?
Again, only time and much patient research work will give the answer. It is quite
possible that booster doses will be required to keep the level of protection high; but
surely that is a small price to pay in exchange for life free from crippling paralysis.
B.C.G. (BACILLUS CALMETTE GUERIN)
VACCINATION
By Dr. W. C. Cormack
Vaccination with B.C.G. is based on the principle that a primary infection
with the tubercle bacillus confers a degree of protection against the more active and
dangerous forms of tuberculosis. Some children acquire this "primary tuberculosis"
naturally and so gain a measure of immunity. On the other hand, some
children, and this number is increasing, have not acquired this protection. These
are the ones offered B.C.G. vaccination in order to give them artificially what other
children have acquired naturally. The first five years after leaving school are the
most important in which children need some extra protection against tuberculosis.
In January, 1957, we started B.C.G. vaccination for the thirteen-year old
children in all Area 10 schools. In the period January to July, 1957, the parents
of 1,475 Twickenham children in this age group were sent a leaflet giving full
details of the scheme and a consent form for completion if they wished their children
protected with the vaccine. 1,118 consents were received and after initial skin
testing had been carried out by a special team of doctors and nurses in the school
health service, 928 of these children were vaccinated with B.C.G. The same
procedure is now taking place in the South-West Middlesex Division schools.
On the whole the response to the scheme has been very good, but I would like
to see every parent taking advantage of this protection for their children.
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