K 35
disease being children under 5 years of age, whereas nowadays the bulk of the cases occur in persons over ten years of age and this is well shown by the following analysis of some 10,000 cases treated within recent years in the London Small-pox Hospitals:
Ages Vaccinated; good marks Vaccinated; imperfect marks Said to be vaccinated; no marks Unvaccinated Cases Deaths Cases Deaths Cases Deaths Cases Deaths 0-5 51 0 182 21 128 47 677 383 5-10 267 2 714 18 325 87 1187 563 10-20 1045 17 1976 98 419 81 521 160 20-40 725 37 1898 258 420 140 382 181 40+ 48 6 266 51 131 44 79 34It is very evident from this Table that the influence of Vaccination performed in infancy fades gradually, and although its power against death remains to a considerable extent, reducing that is to say the chance of a fatal ending to an attack of the disease, yet its power to prevent an attack gradually becomes less from the age of ten years onwards. This is why Germany passed a law in 1874 that every child must be re-vaccinated at the age of 12 years. This law applies to all children, whether boys or girls, but boys have again to be re-vaccinated when they enter the Army at the age of about 19.
As a result of this law Germany has been able to practically eradicate Small-pox from the country as will be seen from the following figures: The population of Germany is 56 millions and from 1891 to 1902 inclusive there were 607 deaths due to Small-pox, or less than one death per million of population per annum. It is stated that most of these deaths occur near the frontiers of the country, where it is not so easy to exercise such absolute control over the re-vaccinations as it is in the interior. England with a population of 32 millions had during the same period 6,761 deaths from Small-pox or more than 17 deaths per million of population per annum. The death rate in fact from Small-pox in England is almost twenty times as heavy as in Germany, and this result has been obtained by Germany solely through insisting on the re-vaccination of school children at the age of 12 years and by the further re-vaccination of all boys who enter the Army.
All school children of whatever age should therefore be at once vaccinated if they have not been vaccinated in infancy, while if there is evidence of infant vaccination they should be re-vaccinated at the age of 12 years, and it is well to explain to the children that the discomfort attending re-vaccination is very small indeed, and so many improvements have taken place in the preparation of the lymph that there is no risk whatever now attending it.
K 35
disease being children under 5 years of age, whereas nowadays the bulk of the cases occur in persons over ten years of age and this is well shown by the following analysis of some 10,000 cases treated within recent years in the London Small-pox Hospitals:
Vaccinated; good marks
Vaccinated; imperfect
Ages
marks
Said to be vaccinated;
no marks
Unvaccinated
Cases Deaths Cases Deaths Cases Deaths Cases Deaths
0-5
51 0
182
21
128
47
677 383
5-10
267
2
714
18
325
87
1187 563
10-20 1045 17
1976
98
419
81
521 160
20-40
725 37
1898
258
420
140
382 181
40+
48
6
266 51 131
44
79
34
It is very evident from this Table that the influence of Vaccination performed in infancy fades gradually, and although its power against death remains to a considerable extent, reducing that is to say the chance of a fatal ending to an attack of the disease, yet its power to prevent an attack gradually becomes less from the age of ten years onwards. This is why Germany passed a law in 1874 that every child must be re-vaccinated at the age of 12 years. This law applies to all children, whether boys or girls, but boys have again to be re-vaccinated when they enter the Army at the age of about 19.
As a result of this law Germany has been able to practically eradicate Small-pox from the country as will be seen from the following figures: The population of Germany is 56 millions and from 1891 to 1902 inclusive there were 607 deaths due to Small-pox, or less than one death per million of population per annum. It is stated that most of these deaths occur near the frontiers of the country, where it is not so easy to exercise such absolute control over the re-vaccinations as it is in the interior. England with a population of 32 millions had during the same period 6,761 deaths from Small-pox or more than 17 deaths per million of population per annum. The death rate in fact from Small-pox in England is almost twenty times as heavy as in Germany, and this result has been obtained by Germany solely through insisting on the re-vaccination of school children at the age of 12 years and by the further re-vaccination of all boys who enter the Army.
age
All school children of whatever age should therefore be at once vaccinated if they have not been vaccinated in infancy, while if there is evidence of infant vaccination they should be re-vaccinated at the of 12 years, and it is well to explain to the children that the discomfort attending re-vaccination is very small indeed, and so many improve- ments have taken place in the preparation of the lymph that there is no risk whatever now attending it.
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