086543575

Mnp 8.

The State Serum -Institute.

treatm ent for economic rea­ sons. Denmark then belongs to the countries having the lowest deathrate from diphtheria. Among the other kinds of serum made a t the institu te may be mentioned the sennit for tetanus, which, especially during the world-war, was in enormous demand and had the effect, th a t the tetanus al­ most suddenly disappeared, the serum for meningitis, pneumonia and wound-fever (bloodpoisoning). The effects of these sera though, are more disputed, b u t the treatm ents are studied intensely, and the future, it may be hoped, will bring a great step forwards. Finally m ust be mentioned the serum against scarlet fever which a t present is being tested, but whose effects only

ge, b u t nowadays the diphthe­ ria of the th ro at may be con­ sidered as being proportio­ nally harmless. There have even been years, when the death-percentage on the »Bleg- damsliospitalet«, the hospital of epedemics of Copenhagen, was below one and the secon­ dary effects reduced in accor­ dance herewith. How big quantities of Se­ rum for diphtheria are made for Denmark alone, is proved by the fact, th a t there have been years, in which the Se­ rum -Institute has sent out se­ rum enough to be paid with about half a million kroner, if the State had not, for human reasons, decided, th a t the Se. rum is to be distributed al­ most gratis to all hospitals and physicians so th a t no pa­ tien t should be w ithout the