Conclusions of Committee on Postvaccinal Encephalitis
The occurrence of cases of encephalitis following vaccination and the appointment by the minister of health and the medical research council of a committee on vaccination, under the chairmanship of Sir Humphry Rolleston, to report on the preparation and standardization of lymph, methods of diminishing or removing the risks of vaccination, and the best methods of protection, have been reported in previous letters. The committee found that between October, 1922, and December, 1923, inclusive, sixty-two cases of postvaccinal encephalitis were reported, though few were proved by microscopic examination. This would amount to one case in 16,903 vaccinations. About half of those affected died, but the others usually recovered completely. The committee recommended that the officially advocated four insertions for vaccination be reduced to one, with a minimum of trauma, and deprecated multiple scarification. This recommendation was adopted by the minister of health in an