The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-02-22
BY ALLAN ROY DAFOE, o. B. E.,
 M. D.

BY ALLAN KOY DAFOE, U. b. Eos
 M. D.
 Copyright, 1887, NEA Service Incl
 Callander, Ont, Feb. 9 - The Dionne quintuplets never will have smallpox, but either will they ever reveal the disf1guring scar on the upper arm that used to be the mark of smallpox vaccination.
 Some time in the future, when the occasion arrives for them to wear formal party-gowns, the girls will appreciate that their vaccina- ton marks are registered on the left hip, invisible in the wearing of any sort of party-gown that the design CTS have as yet introduced into the world of fashion.
 All five vaccinations took" nicely and yet the daily routine and play periods of the girls were not inter- rupted. In fact, they were all tn- tensely interested in the procedure, and evidently keen to see what it was all about.
 The same curiosity, interest, and total lack of fear that has charac- terized their dental inspections, was again notable in the vaccination routine. After each little girl had her puncture, she proudly showed the mark to the others.
 From that term "puncture," you will guess that our procedure is somewhat different from the one with which you are probably familiar. The old-fashioned method, as many of you will no doubt viv- idly remember, called for a scratch ing of the skin, which often left a heavy scar after the healing.
 The modern method, and the one used in the case of the little Dionne girls, is that of a clean puncture which is made neatly and without drawing blood, the serum then be- ing applied in small, completely sterile tubes. The children were then kept quite for time until the serum dried on the clean white skin, without any covering during the process.
 Ten days after the vaccination, a fine scab formed, and this did re- quire a loosely applied protection to prevent premature removal of the scab. It was evident that the vac- cination had been a complete suc- cess in every way
 Ordinarily, 1t is best for children to be vaccinated before they are a year old. When they are so young, there is practically no visible effect, though of course the protection is just as complete.
 In the case of the quintuplets, the process has been delayed this long because of their premature birth, and since we did not feel that 1t was as urgently necessary as in ordinary cases, because of their iso- lation from germ-carriers and the unusually hygienic surroundings of the nursery.
 Isolated as these children are and have been from contact with the public tnd even from germ-carry- ing associates, we nevertheless felt vaccination would be best. Not only will 1t protect them against the possibility of contact with smallpox later on, but it serves as an example to children all over the world of how modern medicine can protect them from the chances of catching communicable diseases.
 This treatment supplements the anti-diptheria toxoid administered to the children in December of 1885 making them immune from two dis eases which used to be dreadful scourges in this vicinity as well as all over the world.
 No one who has seen the sort oi ravages which smallpox used to in- flict on people, could hesitate in regard to providing the best protec-