DIPHTHERIA 



273 



Schick Test and its Value. — By the Schick test it is possible to 

 determine if a person is immune to diphtheria. A very minute dose 

 of diphtheria toxin is injected under the skin of the forearm. If 



the person is immune, no reaction takes 

 place, because the blood is provided 

 with antitoxins. But if the person is 

 susceptible, some hours later a slight 

 red spot appears where the toxin was 

 injected. This is a danger signal and 

 shows that the person would take 

 diphtheria if exposed to it. To such 

 a person a treatment, known as the 

 toxin-antitoxin treatment, is given. 

 100 cases of diphtheria when Small amouuts of a mixture of diphthe- 



antitoxin is used on different •,• i I'l • ••xi'x 



days after the disease starts. "a toxm and antitoxm are mj ected mto 



the susceptible person, with the result 

 that he becomes immune by a combination of active and passive 

 immunity. This treatment has been tried with thousands of 

 school children in the city of New. York, with the result that the 

 death rate from diphtheria 



n 



Afone 

 Ddy hi 



Early use of antitoxin saves 

 lives. Number of deaths per 



HntroducHon 

 ofanfitoxin 

 treatment 



.^. 



■>^i 



•Tfie Schick test and 

 toxin-antitoxin 

 treatment be^an to 

 stiQw effect tiere 



dropped still lower than 

 before its use (see chart). 



The Dick test and treat- 

 ment promise to do as 

 much in combating scarlet 

 fever as the Schick test 

 has done in reducing the 

 death rate from diphthe- 

 ria. In the Dick test a 

 diluted toxin produced by 

 the bacteria which cause 

 scarlet fever is injected 

 into the arm. A redness 

 indicates that the person 



is susceptible to scarlet fever. Treatment is then given with an 

 antiserum which gives the body immunity from this disease. 



Other Antitoxins. — Tetanus, commonly called lockjaw, once 

 a much-dreaded infection, has now been almost stamped out 



Annual number of deaths from diphtheria per 

 100,000 of population in the state of New York, 

 1885 to 1925. 



