Bottle for diphtheria vaccine, London, England, 1946 Diphtheria
is a bacterial infection which affects the throat. A membrane
forms over the back of throat making swallowing and breathing
difficult. The disease can be fatal and was once responsible for
a significant proportion of childhood deaths. Diphtheria is now
rare in the United Kingdom because of vaccination programmes
which began in 1940, when the death rate from diphtheria was
high. Cases fell from 46,281 (2,480 deaths) in 1940, to 37 cases
(6 deaths) in 1957. However, diphtheria is still common in other
parts of the world. The vaccine was made by Burroughs, Wellcome
& Co. It is shown here with a Record-type syringe (A500633/1).
Related Themes and Topics There are 583 related objects. View
all related objects The introduction of vaccine into the body
for the purpose of inducing immunity. Coined originally to apply
to the injection of smallpox vaccine, the term has come to mean
any immunising procedure in which vaccine is injected. Vessels
having a nec