The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1891-07-23
LEPROSY AND VACCINATION. I"

EITuuol NNO vnSS'"N''
"Leprosy and Vaccination " is the
title of pamphlet just received from
the author, Mr.. William Tebb, Lon
don, who visited these islands last
year in connection with the inquiry by
Royal Commission into the question
of vaccination. The pamphlet treats
its subject under the following heads:
"The Increase of Leprosy," "Caus'
alton" Vaccination, Treatment
and Prevention" and Conclusion
Mr.. Tebb draws largely from the in
formation he gained in this country,
making the case of the convict ke-
anu prominent. After describing
the development of leprosy in keanu,
who was inoculated with the bacllli
of the disease by way of experiment
as an alternative to his suffering the
death penalty for murder, the author
says, Keanu has since been sent to
the lazaretto, Molokai, confirmed
and incurable leper-a punishment
ten times more severe than the death
penalty, and in my judgment utterly
unjustifiable. Under the head of
Vaccination" the author says:
"Dr. Edward K. Aiming, the we'll
known bacteriologist, who at the in
vitation of the Hawaiian Government
visited Hawaii between 1883 and
1885, for the purpose of studying
the cause of the spread Of leprosy,
attributes the remarkable increase to
general and repeated vaccination of
the inhabitants, and he is supported
in this view by the evidence of a
number of medical practitioners,
resident in these islands, as well as
bv several Presidents of the Board
of Health, Honolulu, who have made
the subject one of careful personal
investigation.
The following passages from the
"Conclusion" of the treatise ought
to be laid under deep consideration
by both physicians and enlightened
laymen: "The disease being admit
ted in all countries to be practically
incurable, the culpability of inhict-
ing it by vaccination is greatly ag-
eravated, and cannot be justified on
any pretense whatever. N
The extent of the mischief already
experienced will never be known, but
sufficient is already admitted to arrest
the attention of all who are seriously
concerned for the public health, and
for the well-being of the community.
Is it not therefore the duty of every
medical practitioner to personally in
quire into the matter for himself, and
no longer to shelter himself behind
the orthodox belief in the benign
character of vaccination? Vaccina-
ton has been tried for nearly cen
fury and found wanting, and each of
the three reports of the Royal Com
mission on Vaccination already pub
lished establishes The failure, mis-
chievous effects and injustice of the
compulsory infiction of an artificial
disease upon healthy people," Mr..
Tebb urges the petitioning of legis-
latures aud other governing bodies,
and the seeking of the powerful aid
of the press, for the purpose of
abolishing "the compulsory infliction
of disease, fraught with such dis
astrous and far-reaching conse-
quences to the human family" All
that is needed in this kingdom to kill
vaccination ''deader than door
nail" is to convince the foreign
population that it carries danger of
conveying leprosy. And if there is
not proof forthcoming that there is
|
no danger of leprosy from this cause,
compulsory vaccination should not
be in our statutes any longer than
the. first opportunity for its abolition.
All our physicians and public men
should procure every scrap of evil
dence, as they may easily do, which
has been or may be elected by the
Royal Commission of Great Britain
upon the subject. 1t is only truth
and justice to say, however, that
more care is used, and less perilous
methods are employed, nowadays in
vaccination than in the early days of
this country's civilization. The best
protection against epidemic diseases
is to be found in public sanitation
and private hygiene.