Vaccine Treatment in Asylums

Abstract

The treatment of bacterial diseases by means of specific vaccines is a branch of therapeutics that has been steadily growing in importance in recent years. It is now being applied to every bacterial infective malady, from acne to acute septicæmia. Nevertheless, it is admittedly only at an early stage in its development. Every worker at the subject is still endeavouring by observation and experiment to improve its methods, to understand better its mode of operation, and to determine the extent of its useful application. It has already had brilliant triumphs, although, in common with other forms of medical treatment, it has to admit many failures. While it is now being extensively employed both in general and in hospital practice, it has not yet been utilised in our asylums as it deserves to be. The chief purpose of this paper is to endeavour to show some of the useful applications vaccine therapy may have in such institutions, and to encourage its employment.