7 FEBRUARY 1969, Page 30

Sex and science

Sir: Had Mr Desmond (Letters, 10 January) chosen to do so, he could have quoted figures showing the decrease in the number of cases of diphtheria since mass inoculation began, and have come to conclusions exactly the opposite, viz. that inoculation has been nearly 100 per cent successful in treating certain bacterial dis- eases. As all doctors and pharmacists—who study immunology during their training—know, inoculation procedures are not 100 per cent suc- cessful, but serve to reduce considerably the number of cases (and deaths) of bacterial and viral diseases all over the world.

E. Adams Lecturer in Microbiology, College of Techno- logy, Portsmouth