IMMUNITY FROM DISEASE

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 157, 21 March 1923, Page 5

IMMUNITY FROM DISEASE

RED CROSS LECTURE At the Red Cross Rooms last night Dr. T. F. Ccrkill delivered a lecture on “Building liniiiuiiity to Disease.” He explained that by “immunity* was understood a relative unsusceptibility to disease. In the middle of the nineteenth century the discovery of microbial origin of diseases was made by Pasteur and Ins > fellow-workers, and as a result much light was thrown on the subject of immunity in so far as the great group of microbial diseases was concerned. After dealing with microbial action, the lecturer pointed out that immunity could be conferred artificially, and that this would be utilised as a measure in practical medicine. The action of the bacteria was described, and the process which occurs in the body’s fight against the organisms. “Stated briefly,” said the lecturer, “the fight against bacterial diseases brings about immunity—-by the production of antitoxins which counteract toxins directly ; bu increasing the opsonic power of the b<dy fluids, and thus fermenting the phagocytes to do their work more actively ; and bv the production of antisuhstanees of various kinds which in various ways destroy and counteract the bacteria, themselves; although all those factors are not necessarily present at the one time.” The importance of Jenner’s inoculation against smallpox wa-s stressed, and its result was described as having almost banish,ed one of the greatest scourges from civliliMd oominun’tien, although the organisms of smallpox have not yet been discovered. The most striking example of protective and active imnhi.ni.tv is*- a|nfi'.-typhoiid inoculation. The effects wore not so lasting as m the case of smnl’pox vaccination.but the results were beyond question. Typhoid, which was one of the most serious menaces* to the health of the troops in fTie South .African war, was of comparatively trivial importance in the Inst war. Tn the British Army in India, in 1905. when only a few men were inoculated, the admissions to hospital for typhoid fever were 1146, and the deaths numbered 213. In 1913, when f’O per cent, of the men were inoculated, there were 85 admissions and 16 deaths. Tn tho United States Naw in 1900, when inoculation was not practised, out of 23.756 men, there were 175 cases and 25 deaths. In 1912 inoculation was made compulsory. Bv 1915, out of ,68.075 men. there were 18 cases sue - or,o death. In 1'916 tiliere were 17 cases and not a single death. Tn regard to serum treatment, in 1896 the deaths from diphtheria* in 'the United States registration area- were 80 per 100,000. In 1907. when anti-diphtheric serum was widelv used, the deaths were 17 per 100.0Q0. An anti-toxin had been discovered and used with great success for tetanus or lockjaw. In the early ffghfins* "on the Marne, tetanus occurred Treely; 16 per thousand of the men u ßr, *u('ht back to Great Britain Tiad contracted it; but with protective inoculation the cases foil to 2 ner 1000. AA 7 ith regard to diseases of classes other than microbial origin, the medical proiession was still groping m the dark trying to find the actual causes. Cancer,'for instance, ‘still defied treatment The most wonderful example of preventive medicine was shewn in the anti-malarial campaign against the mosquito, its destruction protecting man from infection. It was well known that tho vital resistance of the bodv could be modified in many ways. Illhealth, worrv. unlivgienic life, improper food, bad teeth, drug-taking, alcoholism and venereal diseases, to name but a few of the more important causes, all lowered the vital resistance to disease. And attention _to these pauses by increasing the vital resistance rendered the person less susceptible to disease.