748 _ PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION Ff. 
SOME EXPERIENCES OF QUARANTINE. 
By C. F. Ponprr, M.B., C.M., Edin 
[ Abstract. ] 
Ir quarantine could be enforced in an absolute way, it 
might secure a community from the invasion of certain 
dreaded diseases. But in practice it is found to-be impos 
sible to enforce a complete quarantine. Examples of this 
were given from _the writer’s experience, showing how failure 
came in owing to the presence of unguarded loopholes by 
which the disease might leak past. 
Quarantine to be effective must be complete: practically 
we must isolate ourselves from the rest of the world— 
passengers, vessels, goods, even letters requiring to be dis- 
infected before admittance. To do this thoroughly, is im- 
possible, because the appliances and trained officials are not 
available—the expense so enormous as to be prohibitive— 
and even when not successful, the germs of disease in some 
inysterious way are found to leak past, an epidemic of 
smallpox threatens. The only preventative known for. this 
disease is vaccination and revaccination. The value of 
vaccination is illustrated by the case of Germany. There 
vaccination is compulsory before the end of the second 
year of life, and revaccination during the school age. The 
result is that Germany is free from epidemic of smallpox— 
the few cases that occur being almost entirely on the 
frontiers of badly vaccinated countries. The town death- 
rate from smallpox in 1899 in England was 42-fold, in 
Austria was 67-fold, in Belguim was 174-fold, and in France 
was 231-fold, that of German towns. 
The value of revaccination is illustrated by the 1901 
epidemic of smallpox in Glasgow. Here within a few weeks 
nearly half a million persons were revaccinated--and not 
one of these took smallpox. 
Old objections to vaccination have ceased to have force. 
Now only calflymph is used—so risk of infection from 
unhealthy children is avoided. Operation of vaccination is 
practically painless, and, with the rarest »xceptions, suc- 
cessful. A protected community is preferable to quarantine. 
eee ce ne 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE WORK OF THE 
BRITISH CONGRESS ON TUBERCULOSIS. 
By Miss C. L. Monreriore. 
