Sessional_Paper_1906 — Page 462

339

SMALL-POX.

Forty-eight cases were admitted for treatment-of these, 43 were males and 5 females. According to nationality there were :-

European

Chinese Indian

..Males 21; Females 1.

-18

4

"}

29

3

"

Filipino

1

*

43

5

Variety of Small- Pox.

The usual varieties were prevalent in the following proportion :-

Discrete.

Confluent.

Males-European,

15

Chinese,...

13

5

Indian,

3

0

Filipino,

I

0

32

10

Females-European,

1

Chinese.......

3

1

3.

N

Total.

35

12

Deaths.

The deaths numbered eight and were:

Europeans-Males,

Hæmorrhagic.

1

0

샤이아

f Confluent 4

Hæmorrhagic 1

Female, Chinese Male,

Confluent 1

Do.

1

Female,

Do.

1

ន

Vaccination and Small-Pox.

The days when the efficacy of vaccination as affording a means of protection against small-pox was questioned are practically past. It is universally conceded that vaccination is in the great majority of cases protective should, however, the vaccinated person be attacked by small-pox it has been proved (1) that the attack is comparatively miki, and (2) that mortality is much reduced. It must be remembered that sometimes an attack of small-pox may supervene on recent successful vaccination, but careful enquiry reveals that the disease was incubating when the vaccination was performed. In such a case both run through their regular course, but the attack of small-pox is generally mild and modified, and there is no tendency to a fatal issue. Should, however, the attack of small-pox be well established vaccination in the course of the disease, as well as after it, proves unsuccessful. This fact is used as a means of differential diagnosis when there is any doubt as to the case; if vaccination is successful the case is probably not small-pox. Some doubt has been recently thrown on this method of diagnosis in the medical papers, and cases have been brought forward shewing that vaccination may be successful after small-pox has begun. These exceptional cases were very few in number, and can scarcely be accepted as sufficient to overturn our own experience here, which is, that when small-pox is established vaccination proves unsuccessful.

Table I shows the condition as regards vaccination in relation to variety.