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23
In accordance with a desire expressed by the Sanitary
Committee, I submit the following memorandum on the
efficacy of Vaccination and Re-vaccination, which contains
in addition to other statistics, some which have been used in
a former part of the report. In considering this question, it
must be borne in mind, that it is probable that at least 95
per cent. of the population has either been vaccinated or had
small pox, and that therefore there are less than 5 per cent.
who have not been vaccinated or suffered from small pox
In 1877, only 3.69 per cent. of the Recruits for the Army
and Navy had neither vaccination nor small pox marks, thus
affording strong corroboration of the above mentioned
estimate.
To show the contrast between the mortality from small pox
before vaccination was introduced, I will submit the following
for your consideration. During the seven years 1629-35,
the annual death-rate in London was 189 per 100,000 population;
in the 20 years 1660-79 it reached the high figure of
417 per 100,000; whilst in the 30 years 1728-57, it had
increased to 426. During the 10 years 1771-80, just a century
before the decennial period 1871-80, the disease caused a
mortality of 502 deaths per 100,000 population, or more than
15 times as many as for the period 1839-72, and 11 times as
many as in 1871-80, when under the influence of two severe
epidemics, it caused 46 deaths a year per 100,000 population.
I would also mention that during the years 1681-90, and
1746-55, small pox caused one-twelfth of the total number of
deaths from all causes.
As the figures just given refer to periods during
which vaccination was not practiced, it may be as well to
give similar returns for late years. During the 34 years
1839-72 which I consider to constitute a greater wave-period
of small pox; there were rather less than 40 deaths per
annum to each 100,000 population in London, against 502 in
1771-80. In the periods 1853-56, the annual death-rate was
24, in 1859-60, 22; in 1861-63, 29; in 1864-67, 32; in 1868-