No abstract

Provided a suitable antigen is given in appropriate doses, no practical immunological disadvantage is apparent if an interval of two weeks between doses is employed because it is administratively advantageous locally instead of four weeks.With A.P.T. in two doses as the antigen, clinic visits will be saved if primary Schick tests are performed in all cases when the expectation of natural immunes is more than one-third of the total for the age groups concerned. In a typical London borough this can be expected from the age of 9 years onwards.The selection of the primary Schick-negatives when they form a considerable proportion of all children also assists in eliminating or indicating (if it is desired to give a single safeguarding injection) the most probable sufferers of local reactions to A.P.T. In view of the existing variability of the same types of antigens, post-Schick-testing or, as a minimum, post-Schicksampling is necessary.