The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1894-08-23
COMPULSORY REVACCINaTION.
Why it is Necessary and the Value
It Possesses,
Instances 10 Prove That FacciRa Secures Only Limited
Immunity From the Dreaded Smallpox

! Ing up its mind to bring before the IeglS-
| lature law on obligatory vaccination.
He shows that in spite of the creation by
! the state Of an institute of vaccination
the death rate of smallpox, after having
decreased for a certain time, rose again
| in 1892 through carelessness and impru-
dence. Children not vaccinated contin-
ned to be received in the schools, he says;
| the rag trade is not watched in any way;
the isolation of contagious diseases in the
| hospitals is not enforced; while work
men, bOatmen, travelling showmen and
country letter carriers scatter the germs
of the disease right and left after being
i'll by resuming their occupations prema-
| turely.
1t is in vain, adds NJ. Schrevens, that
the Belgium government POUNDS its
hopes on the regulations which the pro-
vincial councils are celebrating concern
ing the general organization of vaccina-
ton. The law is the only radical and GER
tain measure in such questions.
have taken good deal of trouble to
defend the idea advanced by this writer,
and in paper addressed to the Academic
de Medicine de Paris | showed that a
law making vaccination obligatory is
impatiently awaited in France also, and
would have a very direct relation to the
national defense.
While it is to be hoped that in case of
another war we should not again see, as
in 1870, %, 900 Of our own people succumb
to smallpox, as against 500 on the German
side, still there is in the scheme for
mobilization an important category Of
soldiers placed in the auxiliary services
who, having never served before, may
not have been vaccinated, and run in
this way the risk Of becoming danger
of contagion.
The more one thinks on this question
the less comprehensive becomes the hes
itancy shown to give the strength of Il
law to an obligation demanded by public
opinion. known quite well that there
are more or less earnest adversaries of
vaccination, and that various antivacci-
nation leagues serve as rallying point
to those who loudly claim the title of de-
tenders of our liberties. But liberty is a
term that must always be taken in rel
alive manner, and the liberty to do one
thing implies that something else is for
hidden and imposes on society the duty
of preventing one of its members from
becoming danger to the rest. What
ever may be said or done, it is inadmis-
sible that any one should have the free
dom to damage neighbor.
no off, Of
longer be doubted It's value has been
tested and consecrated by time and ex-
perience, and it should be known every
where that it is by inoculating vaccina
that we protect ourselves from smallpox
and are rendered refractory to its action.
) am quite aware that the following
objection is often made, and that it is
said that it is not true that vaccination
prevents smallpox, and that cases are
, cited in which a person properly vacci.
mated has taken smallpox. In spite of
this maintain my affirmation and shall
explain clearly, hope, how a vaccinated
person may take smallpox and even how
smallpox and vaccina can be seen going
: through their evolution together on the
same person.
Take a child who has never been vac.
cinated and inoculate him in six places
three on each arm. These will be fol
= lowed by the appearance of six fine pus
tules, and it is quite possible that if {
seventh and eighth incubation had beer
made they would have been followed by
a seventh or eighth pustule.
+ What does this prove? That satura
t ton has possibly not been reached ant
l that certain amount of receptivity tC
, the virus still remains The immunity
may be complete, but it may also be only
partial. If a man vaCcinated six, seven
eight or ten years ago be inoculated will
a the same vaccine matter used for tn,
+ child and with the same care in sil
. places, instead of six pustules, as in tn,
/ former case, only one, two or three may
form. Saturation is manifest in this in
0 stance, and his immunity is complete.
= = With another patient revaccinated sue
: cessfully three months, six months or
, year ago, and with whom the number o
!, pustules was less than the number of in
EQUATIONS made, however much care
| may take in inoculating him again,
It shall fail altogether. In this case satu
ration is complete and immunity agans
= smallpox absolute.
Observation has proved the legitimac,
y of the comparison between the virus o
e vaccina and the virus of smallpox, which
acting as two reagents of the same fam
ily may replace or complete each other
If | represent by 10 the maximum re
. ceptive power Of person for smallpox
Il am able by inoculating vaccina to com
pletely annihilate its power by comforting
an immunity of 10, or can do so incom
pletely by an immunity of nine, eight
seven, etc, by making an insufficient
number of NEGOTIATIONS.
1t is easy to understand that q receI
" tive power of 10 defended by an immun
, ty Of seven, for instance, leaves a receI
- tive power of three for smallpox. Thi
is how smallpox may break out on q vac
cinated person, and this is also why small
pox and vaccina may go through thei
e evolution together, but in such cases tn
D. smallpox will be always light and mild.
10 The question of quantity must there
fore be taken into account In conferrin
Il immunity against smallpox, especially 6
10 this immunity lessons with time in res
ularly progressive manner.
The conclusion is that vaccina is I'll
preventative against smallpox, but sine
n the immunity conferred may only |
" partial and decrease with time it is we
~ to be revaccinated periodically every 81
\. or eight years, and again, as matter
o. precaution, whenever there is an on