INOCULATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18380, 4 February 1928, Page 4

INOCULATION.

To the Editor. Sir, —Your correspondent, “ Anzac,” refers to the anti typhoid and other inoculations which were pumped into the bloodstream of the best young men of the British Empire. • Undoubtedly serious harm was done to all of them. Dr Davis, in the Journal of the A.M A., actually admitted that: “Typhoid vaccine must be considered a powerful toxin. It is reasonable to assume that certain changes such as myocardial degeneration, vascular changes, kidney de generations, etc., might easily result, although they may be manifested onlv at a much later period in life.” Le Tulle states that: “All serums and vaccines will cause incipient cases of tuberculosis to become rapidly worse ’ Chantemesse warns particularly against antityphoid vaccination especially where tuberculosis is suspected. This has been corroborated by experiments on animals which have shown that antityphoid injections bring about serious lung troubles. This, therefore, accounts for the overflowing consumptive sanatoriums for our soldiers and the many early deaths. A “ Press Association ” telegram of April 17, 1.926, stated: ‘ A most regrettable feature of the effects of war service is the increasing number of cases of breakdown among returned men." The Christchurch “Star” of October 27. 1926. stated: “During September there were 213 attendances at the tuberculosis dispensary. Eightyseven of these were returned soldiers.” Surely I have quoted enough to cause readers to agree with an editorial in “ American Medicine ” in February, 1915. which stated, in referring to an adverse report on tuberculin injections : “ It is. therefore, a great shock to learn that we might have been wrong. Still the history of medicine is a long series of reversals of opinions—the whole profession has been in error, more than once.”—Yours, etc , JAMES R. DEVEREUX.