Diphtheria Up

From the U.S. Public Health Service last week came a warning: diphtheria is on the rise. The number of cases, 10,335 so far this year, was not alarming, but it was some 2,500 above the recent norm, reversed a 25-year trend.

U.S. health officials disagree with the current British theory: that more dangerous new strains of diphtheria bacilli have developed, in the U.S., the standard treatments--immunization with toxoid injections, therapy with antitoxin--are still effective.

Officials think the rise may be due to 1) a slackening in immunization, 2) an increase in vulnerability among young adults (many recent diphtheria deaths have been among returning G.I.s). By Army figures, about half of those in the 19-to-30 age group are susceptible. Their immunization is a problem because diphtheria inoculations often make grownups seriously ill.

Immunization of children is compulsory in fewer than a fourth of the states. To be safe, a child should get two diphtheria shots at six months, a third before starting school.

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