The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1901-06-27
ABOUT VACCINATION.
MEASURE MOST
BENEFICIAL FOR CHILDREN.
Death Rate Il Low In Proportion to the
Evidences. ThorouEhness Revealed
by the scars-Medical Men Favor Com
pu1sory 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 a
memory a historical record, the pre-
ventive measure that brought the re-
cent immunity has been neglected
The nature of the germ of smallpox
and the pabuIum in the human body
on which it subsists are as yet I'M
known, but experience has shown that
the introduction of the vaccine germ
sets up an action that results in a 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 Sc per cent
were of children under ten years of
age In Kilmarnock from 1928 to 1854
the proportion of children among the
fatal cases was 9SS in every 1000 In
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 1852 UNI
der two years of age. Since children
have been protected by vaccination
the greater proportion of fatalities has
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 1 900 fatal cases. In Prussia both
vaccination and revaccination
compulsory. and from 1916 to the pass
ing of the law of 1874 the smallpox
death-rate was 800 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 Il. The
compulsory vaccination age is the sec
ond year of life, and in 1SS6-90 more
than two-fifths of the few deaths that
occurred from smallpox were under
two years of age. In Austria, where
vaccination is not compulsory. the
late, instead of being per million.
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 65. At the time of the European
epidemic of 1S70-75 Scotland. England.
Sweden and Bavaria had a compui
sorry vaccination law. and their small
pox rates per million in the worss
years were ,47o. 1880, 1860 and 1,eso
respectively. Prussia, Holland and
Austria had no general mpu1soIy
vaccination, and their rates in the
u {. b,1S
Coming to 1S77-S6, with vaccination
not compulsory in Austria, with only
infanti1e 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 TO- 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
of three towns, Dewsbury, Leicester
and Gloucester, where vaccination had
been neglected, it was found that
among II vaccinated children at
tackled two died, 2-7 per cent, but
among 961 unvaccinated children at
tackled $50 died, or 37.3 per cent. TAX
ing persons over 10 years old, among
1859 vaccinated persons attack
ed there lac deaths, or 60
per cent, and among 331 unvaceinated
persons there were 70 deaths or % 6
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 ,403 cases in Homer
ton hospital, 2,805 had good VAGINA
ton marks, and the fatalities among
them were per cent; 1854 had indif
ferent marks. and the ratio of fataIi-
ties was per cent; 1926 were alleged
to have been vaccinated but had no
scars, and of them per cent Were
fatal, while the unvaccinated num-
bered 2,169 with 43 per cent of fataIi-
ties. Tie evidence collected shows
that the medical associations of Brit
ain and other countries are abundant
" justified in favoring compulsory
vaccination as a measure of public
safety, and it would be extremely dan
gerous to relax our vigilance in mat
ter of such vital Importance.