VACCINATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10599, 20 February 1896, Page 2

VACCINATION.

TO THE EDITOB. Sir, —It is said that distance lends enchantment to the view, but in some cases distance disenchants the view, and your anti-vaccination correspondent of Saturday is evidently ona of them. His norn de plume i. too long to quote. To support his case he fell foul of antiseptic surgery. Well, J have no intention of trying to prove to him that ever it saved life, aa it is impossible to prove that any medicine, operation, or system ever saved a single life—to ono who is determined not to be convinced. All he has to say is that tbe patient would have got well without the operation, medicine, or system, and it is impossible to prove to the contrary.

Bub I will give yonr readers a few statistics to enable them to form their opinions on the statements of your correspondent.

In Glasgow, for the three years 1869-1866 before Lister introduced his system, tbe death rate for major operations was 45 per cent. . In the three years 1867-1859 immediately following its introduction the death, rate was 15 per cent.; and in Edinburgh from 1871 to 1877. when he had further developed his system, it fell to 12 per cens.

Volkman, of Haile, was on the point of closing his wards in consequence of the prevalence of pyremia aad septicaemia, when he tried Lister's system, aod during the next five years tbe total mortality was less than 5 per cent. Not bad results for a failure, Sir. Then he tells us that " Lawson Tait, England's greatest surgeon," senb tbe spray out of the window. I am not surprised at this; tbe great * intellectual and social medicos of Eondon opposed the system until 1877, when tbey wanted the.great English surgeon (Lister) to become Professor of Clinical Surgery in King's College, London, when their objections suddenly vanished—vanished in a nij;lit: disappeared like " snaw when it's thaw, friend."

As for Lawson Tait being Englaud's greatest surgeon, I fear he is indebted to the imaginntion of our anti-vaccination friend, and the fact of sending the spray out of the window for this distinction.

I can only find two Tails who have carved tbeir names on the scroll of fame in this century ; and they are both Scotsmen, and neither of thorn surgeons.

Of course, I do not deny that it has proved a failure—no, not for a moment. It failed to save the lives of tbe 15 per cent, in Glasgow, 12 per cent, in Edinburgh, and 6 per cent, in Halle ; and of course yonr correspondent may be quite right in saying vaccination has jutt been such another failnre. But I.have been vaccinated three times, and should I again be surrounded with smallpox, I will once more try vaccination, but I would use lymph which has been taken from a cow, and this system, I am glad to say, is more and more coming into use both in the Home conntiy and the colonies. And I feel confident yon would find our antivaccination friend would be amongst the first to get it done on the same principle'that the party who was dilating on the hot water cure, when asked if he put anything in it—seasoning the questioner meant—replied,' "Oh, aye, - put a glass or two of whisky in it; just in case, you know." _ - As for your correspondent's query if tha administration of an antithetic ever saved a patient's life, I would say, "No, never; but it has enabled the surgeons to perform operations which they believed saved their patients' lives ; and if your correspondent wants to have ground to work upon in his campaign against the use of amesthetics, I might tell him I know of two cases which, proved fatal, when neither the disease nor the operation would have—toothache only.—l am, &c, • Dunedin, February 17. " Edika.