VACCINATION 251 



with bacteria. It is therefore necessary to protect the 

 wound carefully against possible contamination. This is 

 done by the physician in various ways. Although there 

 is thus some danger in vaccination, the chances of trouble 

 are very slight indeed, whereas the protection afforded 

 against smallpox is so great as to lead scientific men 

 and physicians to recommend its use unhesitatingly as 

 a general protection against this extremely violent and 

 frequently fatal disease. 



Modern physicians have means of almost perfectly 

 protecting the members of the household from the con- 

 tagion of diphtheria by means of the product known as 

 diphtheria antitoxin. Where a family is unable to isolate 

 a patient from other children, an injection of antitoxin is 

 almost certain to prevent the distribution of the disease. 

 Its use is being adopted very widely by physicians, and 

 every housewife should understand that it is a precaution- 

 ary measure that is eminently wise, perfectly safe, and the 

 only known means of protecting a family where complete 

 isolation of a diphtheria patient is impossible. Many phy- 

 sicians, indeed, adopt it as a precautionary measure in 

 households where there are several children, even though 

 the- patient is isolated. 



A method of vaccinating against typhoid fever has also 

 been devised, and is coming to be extensively used. The 

 treatment is perfectly harmless, and it gives a very high 

 degree of protection against the disease. It is so efficient 

 that it is made a requirement now in the United States 

 Army for all soldiers who are to camp in places where they 

 are exposed to typhoid. 



