COMBATING DIPHTHERIA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19072, 17 July 1925, Page 11

COMBATING DIPHTHERIA

INOCULATION CF CHILDREN.

AUCKLAND PREPARATIONS,

GOOD RESULTS ELSEWHERE. The policy- of offering free inoculation to school children as a precaution against diphtheria is shortly to bo adopted, subject to the consent of parents, in a number of schools in the Auckland province, stated Dr. T. J. Hughes, medical officer of health, yesterday. The number of schools at 'which inoculation will be available will depend on the lime at (he disposal of the school medical officers, but a start will be made with a number of representative schools in the city and country, especially those where diphtheria has been prevalent. Special circulars will shortly bo forwarded to patents of children attending certain schools at which it is proposed to undertake this work in order to obtain their consent to inoculation of tho children. The work will be undertaken by the school medical officers, assisted by nurses of the Health Department. In the United States, said Dr. Hughes, tho death rate from diphtheria has, responded quickly to the medical discoveries which have been made during the past 30 years for control of the disease. Tho first significant contribution of medical science to the control of diphtheria was Von Vchring's discovery of anti-toxin. In the period immediately following the general introduction of this adjunct in the treatment of diphtheria, that is, from 1894 to 1905, the death rate in 23 large American cities declined at a rate of 10.4 per cent, per year. Then there came a period of diminishing returns. Between 1905 and 1918 the rate declined only on an average of 2.8 per cent, per year. This was about the same rate, of -decline as that which prevailed during the decline immediately preceding the discovery of anti-toxin.

However, in 1918, the new era of the Shick reaction and administration of toxin anti-toxin began and with it there set in a further acceleration in the rate of fall of the diphtheria death-rate. During the period from 1918 to 1923 the diphtheria death-rate fell an average of 10.3 per cent, per year. During the past six years the death-rate in the 23 American cities has declined almost by uniform annual decrements and it is anticipated that if the prevailing rate of fall continues in the immediate future, a negligible diphtheria death-rate may be expected in the year 1930.

Campaigns have been carried out in Britain during the last two years and large numbers of school children and children in various institutions have been inoculated and the inoculations gave rise to.no interference with school attendance. Various schools and institutions have been dealt with previously in the" Auckland district and in other parts of New Zealand, without any ill-effects to the children and very satisfactory results have been obtained. The first occasion on which inoculation was carried out in New Zealand was in 1919, the children in an institution being inoculated owing to recurrence of diphtheria, and the inoculations proved eminently satisfactory. Similar results have more recently been obtained in certain schools and institutions in this province.