§ Mr. Longdenasked the Secretary of State for War whether inquiry has been made into the death of Signalman Philip Horace Keeble,31, Royal Corps of Signals, of 59, Medway Road, Ipswich, on 15th June, in a regimental aid-post at Worstead; on what date was Keeble vaccinated against smallpox; on what date he had been inoculated against tetanus, typhoid, paratyphoid and typhus fever; and whether the medical officers concerned in the case were aware that vaccination has caused a considerable number of cases of encephalitis, half of them fatal.
§ Mr. LawsonInquiry has been made, but expert examination of the organs of the deceased has so far failed to disclose evidence to support a view that death resulted from post-vaccinal encephalitis; but this aspect of the inquiry is not complete and further complex technical investigations are proceeding. The late Signalman Keeble was vaccinated against smallpox on 5th June, 1945, and against tetanus, typhoid, paratyphoid and typhus fever on 9th June, 1945.
The occasional occurrence of encephalomyelitis subsequent to vaccination against smallpox and the possible seriousness of the condition are well known to Army medical officers, and a note on the condition was included in the Army Medical Bulletin in April, 1944.