View report page

25
experience derived from this hospital is borne out by that
obtained from other hospitals. There is also another strong
piece of evidence afforded by hospitals, viz., that the
attendants when re-vaccinated never caught the disease,
whilst a few who escaped re-vaccination, contracted it. It
has been objected, that if vaccination affords so great a
protection against small pox, how is it that so many vaccinated
persons take the disease ? The answer is readily
given: (a) before the now almost usual custom of arm to
arm vaccination was generally carried out, there was very
much bad vaccination, and persons were consequently
imperfectly protected; (b) because the number of insertions
of lymph are often too few; (c) because experience of late
epidemics has shown that early re-vaccination is necessary
in consequence of the protective power of the lymph wearing
out during growth; and (d) because re-vaccination is comparatively
rarely practised, although experience shows that
persons properly re-vaccinated after the cessation of growth,
rarely contract small pox, and if they do, almost invariably
suffer only from a very slight form of the disease.
As regards re-vaccination, the experience derived from
enquiries made respecting the patients reported to this
department, shows that a very large number of vaccinated
children take small pox between the ages of 7 and 10 years,
and a greater number between 10 and 15; as many as 30
per cent. of all the vaccinated cases of small pox, having
occurred in children under 15 years of age. It is therefore
evident, that it is necessary for re-vaccination to be performed
as early as 7 years of age, unless the child be
protected by four good marks. One great obstacle to early
re-vaccination is, that the public vaccinators are not paid out
of the public funds for re-vaccination under 15 years of age,
except during an epidemic, when the age may be altered to
12 years by a Special Order in Council.
The efficacy of efficient re-vaccination is shown not only
by the statistics of Small Pox Hospitals, but in other ways.