On the Incidence of Encephalitis Lethargica and Acute Anterior Poliomyelitis in Lancashire and Elsewhere

Abstract

Difficulties in cultivation outside the body have rendered the exact study of the immunity reactions of the filtrable viruses less easy than in the case of many of the bacteria, and the extension of our knowledge of immunity in these infections is at the present time largely dependent upon observation of the behaviour of human beings when exposed to infection through natural channels. For this reason it is important that the utmost use should be made of such reliable statistics as are available for the study of the epidemiology of such diseases as Encephalitis Lethargica and Acute Anterior Poliomyelitis, with a view to understanding their mode of spread and obtaining some clue as to how they may in the future be controlled.