SummaryThe returns relating to naval personnel who were reported to the Admiralty to have acquired non-surgical jaundice between 1944 and 1947 were examined.Where the dates of onset of illness and of inoculation were available, the numbers who developed the illness within 11–40 days of inoculation were greater than the numbers to be expected if there was no association between the dates of onset of illness and the dates of inoculation. During 1945 the observed numbers were also greater than the expected numbers when 41–70 days intervened between inoculation and the illness.The interpretation and practical implications of the findings are discussed.This paper is published by kind permission of the Medical Director General of the Navy, Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Ingleby-Mackenzie.I am indebted to Dr F. O. MacCallum for his continued interest and for invaluable suggestions; to Dr J. O. Irwin for scrutinizing the script; to Miss H. M. Ferres who applied the statistical tests to the figures in Table 1; to Surgeon Commander M. A. Rugg-Gunn, Royal Navy, for the information about the ratings' pay books, and to Senior Commissioned Wardmaster J. L. T. Burns, Royal Navy, and Sick Berth Petty Officer (L) D. E. Lee, Royal Navy, who tabulated the numerical data.
The Transmission of Hepatitis Virus by Routine Immunization Procedures