Prophylactic Use of Parental Blood Serum Against Contagion in a Pediatric Ward

The protection of susceptible infants and children in a pediatric ward against the contagious diseases constitutes one of the major problems of the attending physicians. Fortunately, the transmission of infectious diseases such as typhoid, meningitis and even erysipelas from one patient to another no longer occurs in well conducted pediatric wards. The danger, however, of spreading measles, scarlet fever and diphtheria still exists in most hospitals in which susceptible groups of infants and children are cared for. Most of the contagious diseases constitute a grave disorder in infants, while their complications threaten the health and even the lives of older children. Particularly is this true in those hospitals in which children are crowded in open wards and are attended by the same nursing staff. Moreover, if an outbreak of a communicable disease occurs in a surgical ward there is grave danger to the patient when after operation the necessity to