[Report 1959] / Medical Officer of Health, Basingstoke Borough.

  • Basingstoke (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1959
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1959] / Medical Officer of Health, Basingstoke Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/34 (page 11)
    Although the figures for Basingstoke compare favourably with i the County as a whole, there still seems to be a certain resistance on the part of parents to having their babies vaccinated against Smallpox. An effort is made to point out to them that nearly all complications of this procedure occur after Primary Vaccination in adults. As many people will have to be vaccinated at some time in their lives, in order to comply with international requirements connected with travel, or possibly following the diagnosis of a case of Smallpox in their area, a mother does not help her child by refusing early vaccination. (c) Diphtheria, Whooping Cough, and Tetanus : During the year, 452 primary immunisations and 332 secondary courses were completed. 398 of the Primary courses completed were with the Triple Antigen. Number of children at 31st December, 1959, who had completed a course of immunisation, in relation to the child population. Date of Injection Under 1 year 1-4 years 5-9 years 10-14 years Total Completed within 1954-59 - 161 1107 1377 166 2811 Completed prior to 1954 — — 421 1595 2016 Approx. Child Population - 450 1500 1980 1650 5580 For the past two to three years, it has been our practice to give combined inoculations against all three of the above diseases. This does not mean an increase in the number of injections received by each child. Protection against Tetanus is efficient and harmless. It is a disease no less serious than Diphtheria and a constant danger in country districts. In order to save the child having unnecessary, and sometimes hazardous, injections of Tetanus Antitoxin in casualty departments of hospitals, it is essential that the mother be given an adequate explanation of what has been done, together with a record card to keep at home. This, of course, applies to all inoculations and vaccinations. Record-keeping in the Country as a whole still leaves much to be desired. It is to be hoped that before long the numerous shapes, sizes and colours of cards used by various authorities will be standardised by the Ministry of Health, along the lines of the armed forces. It would also be most desirable to have all inoculations and vaccinations recorded on a single card for each patient.