Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-21
VACCINATION URGED
Development -of smallpox Without
g4EA
Known oT1Hn Source Of Uneasi-
1i aes,,safeo Health once.

pox In th1b cftyssince January 4. traceable
to no cozdmor origin. Is occasioning some
uneasinesss ats the health department.. So
long as there are reasonabfe grounds for
believing that known cases Of smallpox
have Originated fremc some. case or cases
already IN quarantineit Is not diMcust to
predict the course OF the outbreak with APP
proximate ceTtaffty.
y When, however, easeat scannet be traced
ito other cHsss already known to exist, but
spring UP. finn unknown sources. and es-
pecially when under such conditions they
occur in different sections OF the city. the
inference IS that there have been and pos
sibly .stili are patients at large suffering
from smallpox. Against cases of this char
acter It Is next to impossible for the health
department to protect the community.
The department feels that the community
should thoroughly understand the situation.
and that 1t, should understand further that
each Individual In the community can pro-
tect himself by being efficiently vaccinated.
The sufficiency Of vaccination as preven-
tive continues to be demonstrated, It IS said.
~ the occurrence OF cases Of smallpox In
this city almost altogether among those
VINO, have never been, successfully yacci-
mated, the occasional exception being the
case OF smallpox in a person Yaccinated
long time before.
Confers Complete Immunity.
A successful vaccination, as a rule. 1t Is
declared, confcrs complete immunity
against smallpox for a limited time. Such
immunity may. however, in exceptional In
stances be but partial even from the be-
ginning and patients having but partial i'm
munfty are those in whom cases Of vario-
loid occur. Whether the Immunity con-
ferred by q singlssVaccination Is or is not
complete at any particular time can be de-
termined. and. If It i not complete, COM
pfete immunity can be secured by revacci-
nation.
If immunity Is complete any number Of
vaccinations can be performed and none OF
them will take. If Immunity Is partial vac
ctinations will continue to take until sus-
ceptibility to smallpox IL exhausted. In
o-ler words, a patient who will not take
smallpox cannot be successfully vaccinated
and patient who can be successfully vac
cinated is liable to take smallpox.
''Too often,'' said Health Officer Wood
ward today. people imagine that they lave
been successfully vaccinated because after
the operation Of vaccination they suffer
from sore arms.
Many, probably almost ALL Of the very
sore arms that follow vaccination, and
which are commonly regarded as particu-
larly good "takes." and as insuring COM
plete protection against smallpox. are not
vaccination sores at all, and a certain num-
Der Of them have no protecting power. They
are Simply ulceratlnS WOuHdS que 10 lack
OF cleanliness on the part Of the vacclnator
or patient in connection with the act of
vaccinating, or with the subsequent caro- OF
the abraded arm. ..s,e
Pure Vaccine Virus.
THE vaccine virus on the market at the
present time is carefully prepared and Is. it
is believed, in most cases not responsible
for such results, Bad results are due rather
to the carrying Of objectionable material
into the wound. with the Instrument used
for scarifying the arm through failure to
cleanse the instrument ot5the arm before
vaccination or through failure to protect
the arm and to keep it clean after the oper-
alton. .ss,4 s3y,fa}4 :
!. With precautions on these points there
why vaccinations should result even In any
considerable Inconvenience to the patient,
and, as stated before, 1t is certain, protec-
ton against smallpox If properly done and
repeated until 1t no longer takes'' -,~@-