84 MICROBES AND HEALTH. 



joints. Fleisch describes a case in which swelling of 

 the hip-joint occurred. Perregeaux mentions thirty 

 cases of joint-trouble following the use of antitoxin. 



"Before antitoxin was used in the Willard Parker 

 Hospital 16 per cent of the fatal cases died of pneu- 

 monia. During nine months of 1895, 53 per cent of 

 the deaths were caused by this disease. Winters 

 thought the enormous increase of pneumonia has no 

 other explanation than the hypodermic injection of 

 serum (antitoxin). 



"Finally we have the startling fact that the injec- 

 tion of antitoxin for the purpose of immunization has 

 killed many people. Korach and Alfoldi, and many 

 others, have reported deaths following prophylactic 

 doses of antitoxin." 



In 1895 Dr. Cordeiro concluded his report on diph- 

 theria antitoxin to the surgeon-general of the navy in 

 these words: 



"As yet we have not the slightest basis on which to 

 found an expectation that fewer children will die in 

 the future of this disease on account of the serum 

 treatment, and every year adds fresh testimony con- 

 firming the justness of this decision. 



"And from all the bad effects caused by the use of 

 antitoxin it follows that many lives have been sacri- 

 ficed which might have been saved with the usual 

 time-honored remedies/' 



Will antitoxin cure diphtheria ? 



Here we learn that it requires many years to form 

 an estimate of the number of deaths from contagious 

 diseases. And even without the foregoing history 



