Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-07-30
OF TYPHOID VACCINATION
Beneficial Results I'm the Army suE-
Eests Its Employment in
Civil Life.

The extraordinsry results Of the recent
military experiments with anu-typhoid
vaccination, and the overwhelming testi-
ucny In favor OF the preventive value
Of the treatment suggest TO the Journal
OF the American Medical Association that
the time has arrived when the procedure
should be seriously considered ~ civil life.
Quoting the last report Of the surgeon
general Of the army. which showed IN the
last fiscal year an incide nce Of typhoid
fever sixteen times greater among the
unvsccinated than among the vaccinated
troops. and that up TO October /, 1910,
only five cases had developed among the
immunized. as against as among the non
immunized. the Journal remarks that a
ster toward the application Of the treat
ment in civil life has already been taken
by the Public Health and Marine service.
According to Instructions recently issued.
officers are required 10 practice anti-ty-
phoid vaccination on ell beneficiaries OF
the service who may desire IL. These bene-
ficisries include al, seamen or PERSONS
employed IN any capacity on any licensed
vessel OF the United states II would seem
as though the next logical move would be
to place the anti-typhoid vaccine at the
disposal OF the civilian practitioner. as has
been done already with the vaccine for the
treatment Of rabies"
Referring to the results in the army the
Journal says. The practice was intro
duced into our army in March. 1909. and
although the taking Of the treatment is
entirely voluntary, over I7.ouo officers and
enlisted men had awaited themselves OF the
opportunity 70 become iumunized before
the present mobilization OF troops on the
Mexican border. With the memory OF
Camp Chickamauga still fresh in our
minds we are the better able 10 appre-
ciate the great strides which have been
made in preventing medicine since the
days Of the Spanish war. During that
campaign there were ao.T3s cases Of ty-
phoid with 1850 deaths. and all within three
and half months. One man in every six
had the disease and this was increased to
one in every five among those regiments
which were left In the United States. Now,
among the 5000 men who have been mob
ilized on the southwest border for over
two months living under the usual camp
conditions where rain and mud prevail
the only case Of typhoid fever which has
developed has been THAT Of a single team
ster, who was unprotected by vaccination
TO Prof. A E. Wright Of the British
army medical school at Netley. is due
the honor Of having first conceived and
put in practice the idea Of anti-typhoid
vaccination. This was before the BoeT
war. The results were rather unsatis-
factory in South Africa during that cam
paign. and it was only after further ex-
Fermentation that the technic was finally
perfected The German army next tool
up the Investigations and as a result ths
medical officials succeeded in cutting tbs
typhoid fever rate in half by vaccination
OF portion Of the troops in Southwestern
Africa in the campaign against the Here
ros in 1904 and 1907. BY this time tbs
English were beginning 70 get better re
suits. and in India in 1903 amonng u 90
soldiers stationed there 5000 were vaeci
mated, and 500 under similar conditions
were left unvaccinated and maintained a,
controls They found that seven times a.
many Of the controls contracted typhoid
and eleven times as many died OF 1T