TO PREVENT TYPHOID.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 71, 13 August 1914, Page 4

TO PREVENT TYPHOID.

VACCINATING THE TROOPS. . CHEISTCIU'RWI DOCTOR'S OFFER, Christeliurch, Wednesday. Dr Pearson, bacteriologist at titer Chrislehurcli Ilospiiiil, has offered to< provide anti-typhoid vaccine to inocu--late the troops against disease. He' calls attention to the great advances that have bfen made in the immunising" •of troops against disease in foreiga countries. The troops in South Africa suffered terribly from enteric, which js really tvphoid fever, and some effwfc skould be made to fortify tliem against such heavy .os&es in the present campaign. Aiiti-ty.phoid vaccine has -been in use for 12 or 13 years, hut the improvements in the preparation of it make it much more valuable than it waga year or two ago. It is an emulsion' of dead typhoid bacilli, and for perfect preventive inoculation two doses of 500' and 1000 millions' are usually giveii at intervals of ten days. At the first dose the patient gets a certain amount of' fever and reaction, but no reaction follows the second dose. Almost perfect protection against the disease is given for about two years. In Ladyamitll, of 1700 inoculated, two per cent, contracted the disease, and of 10,550 not inoculated 14 per cent, contracted the digcase. The injection is usually given in the arm. The use of tlie vaccine is not advised when an epidemic is present, as ihe patient's resistance i? lowered to a certain extent during inoculation, and he is more likely to contract typhoid. Local medical' inen urge that the troops should be inoculated, preferably on the boar, where there would he plenty of time to. recover from the effects.