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=46 1876

VACCINATION

AS A

PREVENTIVE OF SMALL-POX,

BY

W. C. CHAPMAN, M. D.,

TOLEDO, OHIO.

Although there has been much written upon the subject of small-pox, and the methods which have been instituted for the prevention of its development and spread, still at the present day epidemics of the disease do occur at various times in different localities to such an extent that much apprehension is occasioned in any community in which it appears, and the question arises, Why, if vaccination is efficacious as a means of prevention, the disease has not been banished forever from the face of the earth. It is well also to inquire to what extent the medical profession is responsible for its appearance. At the present time Cincinnati and many other cities are being visited by an epidemic of small-pox. In the first named city a mortality is reported from this disease which is astonishingly great. If, as has been intimated by the public press, a portion of the medical profession have advised a disregard to the operation of vaccination as a prophylactic measure, it is certainly to be deplored. The following, taken from a daily paper, certainly shows a prejudice as existing in the minds of