IMMUNIZATION STATE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE SYDNEY AREA AS DETERMINED BY THE SCHICK TEST

IN 1963, 27 cases of diphtheria, with two deaths, occurred in the Sydney Metropolitan area, a marked increase in the incidence of this disease as compared with immediately preceding years. This increase was largely accounted for bv small local outbreaks focused on the Municipalities of Fairfield and Bankstown. Preliminary inquiries by Council Health Inspectors in these municipalities showed that, in certain local areas, only about 60% of children attending infant and primary public schools had been satisfactorily immunized against diphtheria. In view of this information, it was decided to carry out a survey to find out the immunity state to diphtheria of children commencing school in the Sydney area.