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15
Two of these cases had received adequate doses of immunising
material and in each of them the attack was
very mild. It is estimated that approximately '24% of
children of school age and under living in the I5orough
have now been immunised. Experience of immunisation
in this district since the scheme was instituted three
years ago all goes to confirm the value of the procedure.
The majority of children so treated are likely to be fully
protected, while the few who contract the disease suffer
a trivial complaint instead of the serious illness usually
caused by diphtheria.
Six suspected cases were sent to hospital and were
afterwards discharged as not so suffering. It is always
a wise precaution to send doubtful cases for immediate
treatment even though a proportion afterwards prove
not to be diphtheria. Five carriers were treated in
hospital, all with nasal lesions. The distinction between
a simple carrier and a very mild case of the
disease is not always easy to draw. It is probable that
the majority of persistent carriers have some pathological
state in the nose or throat and these are the chief means
of spreading the disease. One such case gave rise to
seven clinical cases of diphtheria in a small group of
houses. One death from diphtheria occurred during the
year.
The following statistics refer to the immunisation
scheme adopted by the Council in 1934. Details of the
scheme were given in my Annual Report for 1935.
Number of cases completing treatment
during year 378
Number of cases in course of treatment
at end of year 19
Number of cases failing to attend for
complete course 8