The prophylactic use of antityphoid vaccine among children has, as yet, received scant attention in medical literature. The subject has been referred to incidentally in papers which I have read at various places during the past year,1 but heretofore no statistics have been furnished.
Whether the measure be regarded as necessary or merely desirable will depend, to a great extent, on local conditions, but for a large class of young people, it is now, in my opinion, highly desirable. This class includes all those, from 2 to 16 years of age, who leave home for summer vacations, schools and colleges. Osler says:
Typhoid fever is a disease of youth and early adult life. Of the 1,500 cases treated in my wards in the Johns Hopkins Hospital, there were under 15 years of age, 231; between 15 and 20, 253; between 20 and 30, 680; between 30 and 40, 227;