Norwich bulletin., 1919-11-05
FIGHT ON DlPHTHERlA IS
 J FIGHT AGAINST IGNORANCE

.Diphtheria killed ael Connecticut children in 1913 The disease is now nearly twice as prevalent in this state as it was year ago. says Dr. T. E. Reeks in his weekly morb1dity report for the state. Reports received from other states by the bureau of pre- ventahle diseases indicate that the contagion is increasing in widely scattered parts of the country. Chicago alone reported 47 diphtherla deaths for last month. Fhe disease is par ticularly fatal in young children and is responsible for one-seventh of all the deaths of children three and four years old.
 It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that every child who dies of diphtheria is victim of ignorance or careless ness. Science has provided both a prohplacitis and cure for the dis and protected against diphtheria al- most as effectively as they may be protected by vaccination against smallpox.
 All; persons are not susceptible to the. disease. A small proportion of all children are immune from the time of birth and the percentage of inn munes increases with age. Only 30 per cent of those between one and two years old are naturally immune, but after that the proportion in- creases until at the age of twenty inn munity extends to probably S5 per cent. That is why so few cases de- velop among adults.
 Not content with furnishing both preventative and cure for diph- theria, science has taken a further step by providing a means to de- ternine whether or not child is sus ceptible to the disease This method of determining immunity is known as the Schick test. It is very simple and consists of injecting rew drops of prepared diphtheria toxin into the skin and then watching for the ap- pearance of characteristic red spot where the infection was made. If such a spot does not appear within three days it shows that the person cannot catch diphtheria. There is no pain, soreness or sickness connected with the test.
 For those in whom the characteristic redress appears. and who are there fore known to be liable to those which have, proven so effective against ty- phoid fever The protective treatment consists of three small injections or toxin-antitoxin, a week apart. There is no sore as there is in smallpox vac cination, and the injections are harm less.
 Even when diphtheria develops there is no reason for it's terminating fatal ly, provided antitoxin be administered soon enough and is sufficiently large dose. But the disease develops so rapidly that a delay of 12 or A l hours before making the injeition may | prove fatal In every case of severe l sore throat which is suspected to be | diphtheria, antitoxin should be admin istered without waiting for the full 1 development of symptoms. No harm | will be done even if the case proves not it be diphtheria. Intravenous in 1 jections, which gave a reaction in siz hours before making the injection may all advanced cases.
 If these facts concerning the pre- vention and cure of diphtheria could be made known to every parent, thii bane of child life would be relegatet to it's proper place among the obso 1 lete diseses. There has been a dispo sition in generations past to look upo1 disease and untimely death as inevit able-as burden imposed for som mysterious reason upon mankind b. an all-wise Providence. The ad
 vance of preventive medicine. how ever, has shown that heaven helps
 those who help themselves and me and women need not bend their neck
 in helpless submission. to commonica
 ble diseases.
 The fight of health authorities t
 conquer diphtheria is now practical ly reduced to a fight against ignoranc
 and the school teachers of the stat
 may be depended upon to give healt
 instructions to their pupils, but for tn
 dissemination of this knowledg
 among parents and other adults. thi
 department asks for the assistance C
 the newspapers which penetrate al
 homes and are as the breath of life t l all Americans