The story of how Canada helped to check a serious out- break of polio in Japan during the late summer of 1961 was disclosed yesterday in the re- port of Dr. J. K. W. Ferguson, director of the Connaught Medical Research Laboratories.
With supplies of anti-polio vaccine scarce, the Japanese Government bought 3,000,000 doses of Sabin vaccine from the Connaught Laboratories and 10,000,000 from Russia.
"We were able to make deliveries within a few weeks, thanks to extraordinary efforts in all departments," Dr. Ferguson said in his report issued yesterday. "The vaccine was administered before the end of July and by the middle of August a dramatic and unprecedented reduction in the number of new cases of poliomyelitis had occurred. A low incidence prevailed for the balance of the year."
The results were so spectacular that the Japanese Government decided to extend the program to older children and continue it during the winter of 1962. Requiring some 17,- 000,000 additional doses, the Japanese Government issued invitations to tender competitively.
Chief competitors for the contract were the Russian manufacturer, three European companies and the Connaught Laboratories. Dr. Ferguson said: "After several months of extraordinary negotiations, the order was awarded to the Connaught Laboratories and the vaccine was delivered in January, February and March. According to latest reports, it has been used with satisfactory results."