[Report 1926] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City.

  • Wakefield (England). City Council.
Date:
1926
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1926] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    51/74 (page 49)
    In February a small outbreak of Diphtheria occurred in connection with Thornes House Girls’ Secondary School, involving one teacher and 4 pupils. An investigation revealed the presence of a carrier case, a pupil who e. month previously had suffered from a throat affection and had stayed away from school for a week. In May an interesting case occurred where a boy aged 13 years appeared to have been infected with Diphtheria and Enteric : Fever about the same date. The patient was admitted to the Fever Hospital on the 12th May, suffering from typical Diphtheria, the diagnosis being confirmed by bacteriological examination. The date of onset was 8th May. His temperature settled on the 14th May and remained normal till the 18th of May, when it began to rise and attained a height of 104®F. in 3 days. A copious eruption of roseolae appeared amd he gave a positive Wideal Reaction to the Bacillus Typhosus at the end of a week. Allowing 14 days for the incubation period of Enteric Fever and 4 d_ays for the Diphtheria, the infection with both diseases may have occurred on the same day, namely, the 4th of May. Inquiries as to the source of infection were negative for both diseases. Schick Testing and Immunisation against Diphtheria. By the Schick test we are enabled to pick out those individuals , who are susceptible to diphtheria and by immunisation we can protect these susceptible persons against the disease at least for a period of years. The test is a simple and harmless procedure, i whilst the immunisation will at most only cause a temporary ; disturbance and in most cases not even thed. In the United ' States testing and immunisation have been practised on a large i scale. In New York City, for example, 400,000 children have been I immunised since 1918, and the diphtheria death rate there has I dropped from 0-22 per 1,000 to 0-07 per 1,000. In England, ; community immunisation is being carried out in certain London Boroughs, in Birmingham, Cardilf and other centres, and over 3,000 children have been protected. In Scotland the practice lias lieen carried out stdl more extensively and in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and St. Andrews, 16,324 persons have been protected. In Aberdeen an analogous practice is also being carried out against Scarlet Fever. In Wakefield, Diphtheria is not so prevalent as to call for aii}^ special propaganda for immunisation, but still it would I be well for the commuhity to know what can be done in the way of I protecting themselves—especially the children^—against Diph- I theria, and if there was any demand for the procedure, the Corpora- I tion might very well provide facilities for it being supplied.