Milford chronicle., 1926-10-08
STATEWIDE CAMPAIGN
AGAINST DTPHTHERlA
continued from nrst Dage)

CONTINUED from first pase'
ken in the past, the people were were
afraid that something was peIns
put over" on them. This proNeu
to be our greatest difficulty.
Fourth: The cases OF dlpnIlleI Id
have been scattered. With lne ca
ception of one town, there Is no
record of an epidemic in the Et"te'
For this reason it was diIilcul9 10
convince people of the necessity VI
having their children immuh!Aeui
"Our first step was to gam INC
co-operation of the local phy slGie'llS'
The executive secretary ana gs uiio
tor of child hygiene met the pny ~ 9l-
clans at their medical meetlns, Ino
campaign was thoroughly explain
ed. and the Schick test ana lo1in- Az
anti-toxin immunization were rs Us
cussed. The physicians were "sA4o ~
to cooperate, in that they were "
exnlain the work to any one VIM
might come to them. Also Cnoy
were to give the three inoculdIloIS
of toxin-anti-tOXin in the local 0Sn
fer for a fee to be determined ~
themselves at their meeting ALT
State Board of Health was 10 uV a.
propaganda, furnish all maternal w
the Schick test and have physlcian
clerk and nurses at the center W
assist the physician in the lllLIuni !an,
cations. The physicians slsHilleg
their willingness to cooperate anu
decided upon a fee of one dollar IoI
the three inoculations to De pau
by the parents of the children "nO
were immunized.
Our next step was an attempt u
gain the cooperation of the lnhueH-
tial people in the community.
"A physician from the State Boaru
of Health called upon every pr! 81
clan in the county and dlscuSseu
the work in detail with nm DeiOIe
any propaganda was started. DlpH-
theria prevention was discussed
with merchants. clergymen, DanK-
ers. etc. at this time. In every
instance he received hearty coop
Grafton. .,,a
"The schoolhouse was decided
upon as the center in each loCallty
and permission was obtained IRON
l06 SLdLG anu 4ONeAA oSAAN
work in the schools. ,..
"A talk on diphtheria and us pre-
vention was given before the parent
teachers association, local cluDs'
and before every class and grade IN
tbe schools. The fact that the I'M
munization was not compulsory
was stressed in every discussion
Printed consent slips were given 10
each child. No child was tested OF
immunized who did not nave the
consent slip properly signed.
"A circular letter was sent TO eacn
physician explaining in detall tne
technique of the Schick test ana III
munizations. This was also discus
sed with each physician at IeasI
once before the actual work Was
started. 100 :, that
narticuIar territory where the I'M
munization was to be DONE cd!leu
mon mothers and advised them 10
bring children of pre-school age 10
the schoolhouse for the IMMUNE"
ton. go. boo,n
and by May 25, 1,342 children ndu
bnon ~ Given the Schick test and I'M
,,,,ni1ation had been started on 9Oo'
THO work was done with an aver
600 eiirollment of about 45O chll-
dTen. and in two institutions nav
ing a total of 146 inmates .-4oa
"A clerk and two nurses asslsIeu
tho state Board of Health physl..
cian school teacher or one ol
the nupils from the upper classes
conducted the children, VINO Were r,',1 ~
take the test or inoculauons. IrUn1 ~
each grade to the room USED lOr tno
clinic, The clerk recorded tne
name age, and grade OF each chllu'
If the Schick test was to be DONE d
ourse bathed the feXOr surface oI
+ba forearm with alcohol; the pny-
sioian Si. gave the Schick test. Inc
stor;iizer Sto,siI in which the needles were
oIocad SIot .ai was kept boiling throughout
tbe clinic. A nurse changed Iilo
rood1a after each test so tnaC d
sterile needle was useu oA ''O
child. ~ cohicl test.
the nhysician, clerk and nurses &c
turned to the school ana asslsCeu
the local physicians in giving inoc-
ulations. The clerk recorded the
positive cases and gave protection
certificate to each negative case. A
nurse painted the arm of each case
with iodine, a physician inoculated
the child in this area and the iodine
was removed with alcohol. The
sterilizer was in continuous use as
for the Schick test. A nurse chan
ged the needles so that sterile need
ie was used on each child, and filled
the syringes with toxin-anti-toxin.
'What success we have had in
this campaign, is in our opinion
due to the personal contact and to
the cooperation of the physicians,
editors, school authorities and local
club members"