The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-02-05
8sshriIIt uiSx.
FRIDAY MORNING. FEB. 5. 1884.
importance OF vaccInatlon.

Vaccination sfFords IS perfect q pro-
lection from small pOz as it is possible
TO obtsiD-ss perfect immunity from
danger IS if The person bad orce passed
through the small PIX = Edinburgh Ned
cal and Surgical Journal 1916.
10 tke Editor Of tie Chronicle.
SIR.-I have been solicited TO give my
views 80 regards vaccination, 10 be pub
lie The fact has hsen proved that, 10
{, The year 1900 ous Of upwards # six
fioasand- psrsons. Who were inocoulaied
with toe small pox after previous vaccine
a,ion. not sing'e one thus took the dis
e,sa. Bot" says She fav'rars of inoe-
Gu alton, s.his IS not the case now. A
nsrsnn Who has bad small pox. or been
;nocculassd are ever after free from al
fur,her chance infection. or IL be be
.osio attacked il Is 81 sxiremslF Mid
fo-r: whilst we fr qgentlg meet with
small D. < occurring a'fer vaccination and
II iben proves quite as fdal - If The
person had not adopted this precsu'ion
TIE sfsfis'ics Of tie London Small P K
HoapifsI proves such Opinions TO he very
arroneous. They show thst IF ihnse 2 ho
hsd the small pox. 222 died in 100,
while those who bad been previously
v.csinsted died IN the small proportion
ofb9 IN 100 TIE su'hoitiss on this
roint are then ranged together sOd their
s,atments compared from which il sp
nears that whi'e those who f;ks small
pox for The second time die in the average
proportion Of IS per cent; those who
take il after vsccinsfi n only die in the
proportion Of 3 per cent on an average
The instances recorded prove that =
second attack Of email pox is far from
being VERY uncommon, aud that when il
does occur, IL is far % re fatal shan small
ny after vaccination. The result of re-
vaccination compared with vaccination
of those who bad had small pox were,
both in Hsnover and Wurtemberg, ex-
sctly in the fame proportion.
From this we must conclude that vac
cinstion gives us perfect immunity from
suhssq asnt attack of small pox, as if s
person bsd once passed through the
small pox itself
More than this We can never ask
more thsn this We can never obtain. IL
the protective powers Of vaccination wear
out Of the system after = certain number
of years which l most unhesitaiingly
deny, so DO those Of an attack Of small
pox itself. And if theorists imsgine
and erdesvor to prove that person
ought to be revaccinsted every twelve
or twenty years, hold it just as equal
" necessary that The person who has
had small pox be, after the same space
of time, again subjected to that disease
by means of innoculstioD, that he may
not fall q victim TO the disease should
he take it for the second time naturally.
The latter proposition is 60 prspOsteF-
Gus that l cannot imagine any one 50
obtuse as not 70 see It's sbsurdity. And
ifi it be so, certainly not less so is the
proposal TO revsccinate.
In conclusion, then, it may be remark
ed that the above facts establish that the
existing prevalence and mortality of
small pcx Is net owing to any failure in
the protective powers of the vaccine virus,
nor to its wearing out of the system sf-
ter a Ger tain number Of years, but to
the neglect Of vaccination altogether ;
and that vaccination affords = greater
protection from a fatal termination,
should the individual be subsequently
attacked With small pox than ii he had
passed through the natural or iBnOcu-
lated small < themselves.
JONI s. CHAPMAN, NJ. D.
WASHINGTON, Jan. e.