The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-09-03
ABOUT VACCINATION.
PREVENTIVE MEASURE MOST
BENEFICIAL FOR CHILDREN,
Death Rate Is Low In Proportion to the
Evidences OF Tboroughness Revealed
by the Sears Medical Msn Favor Com
pulsory Vaccination.

1t is easy to forget past dangers and
to grow careless and negligent as ca
lamities recede into history says the
Toronto Globe. The recent outbreak OF
smallpox in Ontario shows that as the
scourges of the past have become
memory or historical record, the pre-
ventive measure that brought the re-
cent immunity has been neg ected.
The nature of the germ of smallpox
and the pabulum in the human body
on which it subs.sts are as yet UNI
known, but experience has shown that
the introduction Of the vaccine germ |
sets up an action that results in GER
tain amount of immunity from small
pox and lessons the virulence OF the |
disease. One result reasonably attribu- |
table to vaccination is the transference |
of the most fatal period from child
hood TO maturity. In Geneva from
1880 to 1850 there were 25,349 deaths ]
from smallpox and over So per cent
were of children under ten years of |
age In Kiimarnock from 1928 to 1854 |
the proportion of children among the |
fatal cases was 9SS in every 1000. In
a total of 36,755 deaths from smallpox
in Kilmarnock, Edinburg, Manchester,
Warrington, Chester, Geneva and The
Hague in various pre-vaccination pc
RODS since 1880, there were 7,252 un-
der two years of age. Since children
have been protected by vaccination
the greater proportion of fatalities has
been among adults In London in 1884
the proportion of children was 612 in
ever 1000 deaths among the unvacci-
mated, and in the vaccinated commu-
nifty there were only Sc children in
every 900 fatal cases. In Prussia both
vaccination and revaccination are
compulsory, and from 1916 to the pass
ing of the law of 1874 the smallpox
death-rate was 300 per annum per mil
! lion of population. Since then, down
to 1892, it has been Is, and in the last
ten years of the period only II. The
compulsory vaccination age is the sec
! ond year of life, and in 1886-90 more
than two-ffths of the few deaths that
occurred from smallpox were under
two years of age In Austria, where
| vaccination is not compulsory, the
rate, instead of being per million,
as in Prussia was 45S in the same pc
riod. In Italy since 1888 vaccination of
infants has been compulsory, as has
revaccination of children attending
public schools. From 1881 to 1890 the
smallpox death rate was 355 per mil
/ lion per annum, and in 1S91-94 it was
only So. At the time of the European
epidemic of 1S70-75 Scotland, England,
Sweden and Bavaria had a compul
sorry vaccination law, and their small
pox rates per million in the worst
years were lao, 1880, 1850 and 1860
respectively. Prussia, Holland and
Austria had no general compulsory
vaccination, and their rates in the
worst years were 5000, $3.50 and $50.
Coming to 1S77-S6, with vaccination
not compulsory in Austria, with only
infantile vaccination compulsory in
England, and with vaccination and re-
vaccination compulsory in Prussia, the
average death rate per million from
smallpox in the capitals of these three
countries was, in Vienna go, in Lon
don $50, and in Berlin 10. The coun-
ell of the British Medical association
has issued a pamphlet setting forth in
condensed form the facts elected by
the royal commission on smallpox and
vaccination. According to the record
of three towns, Dewsbury. Leicester
and Gloucester, where vaccination had
been neglected, it was found that
among 72 vaccinated children at
tackled two died, or 81 per cent, but
among 961 unvaccinated children at
tackled $50 died. or 1913 per cent. TAX
ing persons over 10 years old, among
1859 vaccinated persons attack
ed there were 1876 deaths, or 6e
per cent and among S31 unvaccinated
persons there were rs deaths, or 22.t
per cent. This record is supplemented
by figures which show that among
those recorded as vaccinated the death
rate is low in proportion to the evil
dences of thoroughness revealed by
/ the scars Of 10,403 cases in Homer.
ton hospital 2,S05 had good vaccina-
ton marks, and the fatalities among
them were per cent. 1854 had indif-
ferent marks, and the ratio of fatal.
ties was per cent; 1926 were alleged
: to have been vaccinated but had nc
| scars, and of them per cent were
fatal, while the unvaccinated mum
: bered 2,169, with 43 per cent of fatal.
: ties. The evidence collected shows
| that the medical associations of Brit
: ain and other countries are abundant
, ly justified in favoring compulsory
> vaccination as a measure of public
: safety, and it would be extremely dan
gerous to relax our vigilance in a mat
( ter of such vital Importance.