ARMY SURGEON VACCINATING NE:W RI:CRUIT AGAINST TYPHOID Fe:VE:R 



ous steps in the production of each dose 

 of vaccine have been as carefully regu- 

 lated and supervised as though it was to 

 be used upon the President of the United 

 States. Before leaving the laboratory, it 

 is tested upon guinea pigs, and the sta- 

 tistics above quoted show the results of 

 this painstaking care. Large quantities 

 have been furnished to the various gov- 

 ernment departments, to the militia, and 

 to a number of civil institutions. 



As soon as its success was assured the 

 larger drug firms of the country sent 

 representatives to Washington to learn 

 the formula and to study the process of 

 manufacture. The same vaccine is now 

 prepared by these firms and sold to the 

 medical profession of the country at a 

 reasonable rate. 



Regarding the act of vaccination itself, 

 an authority states : 



"It is quite simple, consisting merely in 

 the subcutaneous administration, with a 

 hypodermic syringe, of a small quantity 

 of the opalescent prophylactic fluid. The 

 syringe is sterilized by boiling, the skin 

 is prepared by painting a place on the 



arm the size of a quarter, and the im- 

 munization is completed by the adminis- 

 tration of 3 doses — the first containing 

 7^ drops and the second and third, 

 which are given lo and 20 days later, 15 

 drops each. The site of inoculation be- 

 comes somewhat red and tender for a 

 day or two, but there is no sore and no 

 scar as in vaccination against smallpox. 



"In a small percentage of cases, less 

 than five, there is some headache and 

 prostration, but it soon disappears, rarely 

 lasting more than 24 or at the most 48 

 hours. In this connection it is necessary 

 to remember that we vaccinate none but 

 the healthy." 



The progressive health department of 

 New York city decided to use the ty- 

 phoid prophylactic as soon as its success 

 was assured by the War Department, 

 and it is every day being more generally 

 used throughout the country among 

 those who come in contact with the dis- 

 ease or are traveling in areas known to 

 be infected. Miners, campers, contract- 

 ors, and all who are removed from the 

 safeguards of sanitation in a modern 



1151 



