Animal tests in vaccine control.

Children are routinely vaccinated against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and tuberculosis. In order to test these vaccines for potency and safety, laboratory animals are used. The programme shows the culture of the bacteria which cause these illnesses, and also of the rabies virus, and the subsequent vaccine tests on mice and guinea pigs. The film stresses the ultimate aim of establishing laboratory processes for all vaccine testing, but justifies the use of laboratory animals, under stringent conditions, until this becomes possible.