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Enquiries as to the effect on the individual of the testing and
injections were made as a routine and it can be stated that in no
case has any physical disturbance resulted.
In November, 1932, the Minister of Health published a
memorandum (Memo. 170/Med.) with the object of drawing attention
to the advantages of diphtheria immunisation. The
memorandum is reproduced below:—
Memo. 170/Med.
THE PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL IMMUNITY
AGAINST DIPHTHERIA.
I.
General Considerations.
(1) Diphtheria is essentially a disease of children under the age of fifteen
years. About 60,000 cases are notified annually in England and Wales and the
average annual number of deaths is approximately 3,000. It is generally recognised
that whenever possible diphtheria patients should be removed to hospital
and the average period of hospital treatment is about six weeks. The interference
with school life is, therefore, considerable and the cost of treatment a
heavy charge on the ratepayers.
It is, therefore, desirable that attention should be paid to the advantages
of diphtheria immunisation and where practicable to offer to the parents or
guardians of children of over one year of age the necessary facilities for protection.
(2) It would be premature to specify a standard method of immunisation
for universal adoption, but the following recommendations embody a practice
which, on present knowledge, can be considered as efficacious and satisfactory.
(3) In some districts the existing methods of immunisation differ in certain
respects (for example, in the employment of two instead of three inoculations,
or in the adoption of different intervals of time between inoculations) from those
set out below, and it is not suggested that existing methods should necessarily
be modified. Decision on this point must rest with the medical officers or
practitioners concerned who are invited to consider the present recommendations
in the light of the results which they have already obtained.
(4) The recommendations are applicable not only to children but also to
adults, e.g., nurses, who may be peculiarly exposed to diphtheria infection. It
has become a common practice to offer immunisation to nurses and other members
of the staff of fever hospitals when they are about to take up duty in diphtheria
wards, and there are numerous practical illustrations of the success of this
procedure.