376 SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



smallpox than formerly, as the result of general improvement 

 in all methods of sanitation. But still the fact remains that 

 vaccination has been the chief means of controlling smallpox 

 and saving thousands of lives, and it still remains the most 

 effective means of preventing epidemics of smallpox. 



Diphtheria antitoxin. One of the most wonderful dis- 

 coveries of recent years is the antitoxin treatment for the 

 cure and prevention of diphtheria. This remedy was an- 

 nounced by a German, Dr. Von Behring, in 1890. Horses 

 are subject to diphtheria, but it is seldom fatal with them. 

 Their bodies make antitoxins to offset the effects of the 

 toxins produced by the bacteria. Accordingly horses are 

 carefully kept for the special purpose of making antitoxin 

 to be used with human beings. Strong, healthy horses are 

 kept in clean stables and carefully looked after. They are 

 first injected with the toxin, but not the bacteria, which 

 causes diphtheria, as a result of which they make in their 

 bodies antitoxin, and soon recover from the disease. After 

 the horses are well, blood is drawn from their necks in an 

 almost painless way, and in this blood is found the anti- 

 toxin. This is injected into the system of people suffering 

 from diphtheria and has the same effect there in curing the 

 disease as it did in the horse. Not only is this an almost 

 sure cure for this disease if it is taken in the early stages, 

 but it is also effective as a preventive when given to members 

 of the family who have been exposed. This immunity, 

 however, does not last long, usually not more than four weeks. 



The chief difference between the principles involved in vacci- 

 nation for smallpox and in the use of antitoxin for diphtheria 

 is that in the former case the body makes its own antibody, 

 while in the latter case, this antibody is made in the body of 

 the horse and then injected into the human system. 



Effect of treatment on the death rate. As a result of this 

 treatment, diphtheria has passed from being one of the most 

 dreaded diseases to one that is seldom fatal if taken in time. 



