Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-11-12
VACCINATION AGAINST PNEUMONIA-By Frederic j. Haskin

cine three times covering the same period, and
then perhaps injected with three doses of vaccine
against dysentery or cholera, it was apparent that
nearly his entire first year in the army would be
devoted to taking and recovering from the various
vaccine treatments.
So for awhile no attempt was made to develop
OF manufacture for military anything but the
smallpox and typhoid vaccnes. Then came the dis
covery of HpOvaccines by the French which greatly
smplifed the problem In the lipoVaccine the
French prepared the entire typhoid and paratyphoid
dose of seven and half billion organisms in an oil
solution and gave it in one injection. Before this
a salt solution had been used which, given in one
dose, had produced too sharp a reaction upon the
patient.
The development Of lpovaccines imme-
diately taken up by the army medical school, and
the injections or typhoid vaccine In the army cut
to dose. The success of this method opened
up the possibility of developing and injecting vac
cines for many other ailments, chief of which was
pneumonia.
For many years work pneumonia vaccine
has been handicapped by the fact that there
wide variety of germs which cause pneumonia.
There are three types or pneumonia caused by
three different types Of germs, but there is also
fourth type which is caused by a number of germs,
all of which unlike. The best that the medical
world has been able to do is to develop successful
serum for the of what is known type one.
few years ago, however, Englishman
named F. s. Lister vaccinated some miners in the
British mines in South Africa with vaccine
which he had made of three types of pneumococci
pneumonia germs-which prevalent in
that section. These three types, designated A,
b
mated by our physicians types 1, and 3. Types
and correspond to types two and one,
but type do not have at all. The results
of this vaccination by Lister were undeniably
cessful and encouraged medical laboratories every
where to start work vaccine made of three
types of pneumonia germs that most commonly
encountered in this country. Last spring the army
medical school developed such vaccine in oil
solution, for in the army. When the recent
epidemic occurred the laboratory Immediately
started manufacturing thousands of gallons of the
vaccine and sending it not only to the army
tonments in the United States, but to forces
in France
AS far be ascertained the vaccine does
give the necessary immunity against the three
types of pneumonia caused by germs of type 1,
ana 3. For the pneumonia caused by the fourth
type of germs no remedy has yet been found. 1t
should be clearly understood, however, that
cine is a preventive instrument and not cure;
hence it should not be given to persons already
suffering with acute colds and fever. The ordinary
injection of pneumonia vaccine consists of quar-
ter of teaspoonful of oil containing thirty billion
dead pneumonia germs-ten billion germs of each,
type. The idea is that this injection of dead
into the blood of a normally healthy person pro-
duces deadly poison in his system which is an
effective weapon against future OFF ;nsive of live
germs. In other words, it is trick by which dead
germs are panned off on the human system live
ones our tissues are completely fooled, and work
just as hard if billions of live baclli were at
lacking them. when the live bacilli actually do
appear, our bodies are prepared to dispose OF
them.
While the principle upon which the vaccine
works has been detailed for the benefit of the pub
lie numerous TIRES, there are still many people
who do not understand and therefore fear vac
cinatiOn, and more people who confuse vac
cines with Serums. serum is entirely different
from a vaccine. 1t is obtained by vaccinating an
animal with dead germs and thereby producing in
his blood poison against the disease This poi
son is then drained off from his blood and prepared
into serum which can then be injected into the
blood of a human being