Diphtheria

Jonquil posted today about the resurgence of pertussis in California, due to non-vaccinators. Since we've been vaccinating for so long, a lot of people have forgotten how terrible many of the formerly common childhood illnesses can be. Here's a passage from a family memoir about how my grandfather's cousin Mary nearly died of diphtheria. It's worth bearing in mind that this family (with 7 children) is upper-class; they have live-in servants and Grandfather is a federal judge. The poor would have had such an illness much worse.

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