Tb vaccination aids Polynesians

Press, 11 October 1976, Page 16

Tb vaccination aids Polynesians

PA Wellington Major tuberculosis problems among Polynesians in New Zealand were being solved by the vaccination of children soon after birth, the first Australasian tuberculosis clinical conference was told in Wellington. A Health Department chest specialist, Dr Joan Griggs, said that since the introduction of the neonatal vaccinations in Wellington four years ago 3500 "at risk” Polynesian children had been vaccinated. Statistics were not available yet on the success of the vaccination. But it was clear that many of the vaccinated babies would have contracted tuberculosis. In one family, three of four children had been vaccinated.. The father had a bad case of tuberculosis, but only the non-vacci-nated child contracted tuberculosis. “Before the scheme was introduced the whole fam-

ily would have got it, and possibly been in hospital for a long time,” she said. The neo-natal vaccination scheme was introduced at the Wellington chest hospital by Dr Griggs and Dr J. Mackay. It has since been adopted as Health Department policy, and is being introduced in Auckland. Dr Griggs said the scheme was well supported by Polynesian parents. They were keen to have their children vaccinated and to have followup checks made.

Some 97 per cent of Polynesian children born in Wellington since the introduction of the scheme had been vaccinated. Dr Griggs said it would probably be five years before the full benefit of the scheme would be realised. The Polynesian susceptibility to tuberculosis, at present about roughly 50 times that of Europeans, would then have dropped markedly.