Treatment and Prevention of Diphtheria in the Border Counties of England and Scotland (1890-1945)
Overview
As this book shows, diphtheria was an often fatal infection in English and Scottish children before 1900. The first effective treatment was a serum antitoxin. Its application reduced mortality from approximately 30% in 1890 to around 6% by 1925. At that time mass immunization programs began in Canada and the United States to actually prevent the disease. But the United Kingdom government declined to support such a campaign and accepted more than 60,000 cases and 4000 deaths of children each year. This book examines reports of local Medical Officers of Health and newspaper articles from the border counties of England and Scotland about treatment of diphtheria with the new serum and then the subsequent implementation of small programs designed to convince parents that immunization could actually prevent this serious infection. The onset of World War II provided the impetus for government officials to fully endorse a public health campaign which proved to be spectacularly successful. The incidence of the disease and mortality dropped sharply by 1945. In many border districts, the infection disappeared completely.
This item is Non-Returnable
Customers Also Bought
Details
- ISBN-13: 9781036479213
- ISBN-10: 1036479218
- Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
- Publish Date: September 2026
- Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
- Page Count: 648
Related Categories
