§ MR. PICTON (Leicester)asked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether the Board possesses any record of a Report made by Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson, in or shortly 1526 before the year 1877, at the request of Dr. Seaton, then a medical officer of the of the Board, on the cases of 12 patients found to be suffering from syphilis through vaccination; whether, if such Report is in existence, it is of the same tenour as Dr. Hutchinson's remarks on these cases in his Illustrations of Clinical Surgery, Fasciculus vi. page 115, where he treats them as clearly proved instances of vaccino-syphilis, contracted from a vaccinifer supposed by the vaccinator to be healthy; and, whether he has ever had his attention called to the long series of similar cases described by Dr. Hutchinson in the same work?
§ THE PRESIDENT (Mr. RITCHIE) (Tower Hamlets, St. George's)No Report was made to the Local Government Board by Mr. Hutchinson about the year 1877 with reference to patients stated to be suffering from syphilis through vaccination; and, so far as the Board are aware, no Report was made by him at the request of Dr. Seaton. The Board believe, however, that a Report was made in 1871 to the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society by Mr. Hutchinson; but that Report, as stated by him before the Vaccination Committee in 1871, was made on the application of the medical man in attendance on the cases, and not of Dr. Seaton. The Board are aware of the cases of vaccino-syphilis which are referred to in Mr. Hutchinson's publication. Three out of the six cases referred to in the Question as a "long series" related to single cases, and the most recent of any of the occurrences related took place between 10 and 11 years ago. The Board have the authority of Mr. Hutchinson for saying that though he has been diligently on the look-out for similar cases during the 10 years' interval he has failed to meet with any. In his recent work, published this year, on the subject, Mr. Hutchinson says—
There certainly cannot be any difficulty, under ordinary circumstances, in procuring vaccinifers which are absolutely free from risk.Mr. Hutchinson's experience is in these respects entirely confirmatory of that of the Board; which is to the effect that although 750,000 children have been vaccinated annually for many years past not a case of the communication of the disease in question by vaccination has come under their observation.