HC Deb 07 June 1945 vol 411 cc1093-4W
Mr. Viant

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of diphtheria occurred during 1944 amongst immunised children under five years of age and between five and 15 years of age.

Mr. Willink

According to returns received from all but a few local authorities in England and Wales, the number of notifications of diphtheria during 1944 in children under 15 who had completed the course of immunisation was 4,633, as compared with 12,455 cases in non-immunised children. I regret that I cannot give the figures separately for children under five and between 5 and 15 respectively.

Mr. Viant

asked the Minister of Health how many children under five and between five and 15 years of age were inoculated against diphtheria during the year 1944.

Mr. Willink

Returns from local authorities in England and Wales, which do not include immunisations by doctors in private practice, show that during the year 1944 approximately 386,240 children under five and 175,080 between the ages of five and 15 were immunised against diphtheria.

Mr. Viant

asked the Minister of Health how many fatal cases of diphtheria were recorded during the year 1944; and how many cases were finally diagnosed as cases of diphtheria.

Mr. Willink

23,152 cases finally diagnosed as diphtheria were notified in England and Wales during 1944. The deaths from that disease registered in the same period are provisionally numbered at 934.