11
ted last season though in itself large is small in proportion to the strength of the
Vaccination staff, and the average number of operations performed by each man
smaller than in many other districts of the Province. This low average is chiefly
I think due to the following causes :—
1st.—The illness of one vaccinator and the dismissal of 2 others by the Civil
Surgeon without sanction or taking any steps to supply their places. Though
substitutes were I understand not to be found at Raipur, he could have applied
to this office.
2nd.—Want of proper supervision. The Civil Surgeon never did any
inspection in the district, an Assistant Surgeon was sent towards the end of
March for the purpose, but he was out for ten days only and visited only 77
villages.
3rd.—The limited area to which the operations were confined.
It would
appear that for the last two years a new system has been inaugurated in this
district. There are altogether 18 vaccinators paid from Provincial funds. Instead
of (as is usual in other parts of the Province) dividing the whole district into
circles and appointing a vaccinator to each (which would allow one man for about
every 49,000 of population), the local authorities, with the approval of the late
Sanitary Commissioner, have been for the last two years concentrating the work
of these 18 vaccinators in particular localities, with a view, according to the Civil
Surgeon, to facilitate the work of inspection. In 1880-81 the north-west portion
of the district was chosen as the field of operations, bounded on the south by the
Great Eastern road from Drug to Raipur, on the east by the road running north
from Raipur to Nandghat, and on the north and west by the limits of the district.
This area is said to include about 680 villages (I should say not more than one-
sixth of the entire area of the district). By this arrangement each vaccinator
(17 were employed) had about 40 villages to look after, the vaccination of the rest
of the district was apparently totally neglected. During the past season the area
selected included that portion of the district bounded on the west by the road
leading north from Dhamtari through Raipur, on the east by Zamindari and
Feudatory states, on the south by a line drawn nearly due east from Dhamtari,
and on the north by the boundary of the Bilaspur district. This area though
much larger than that chosen for the previous year is considerably less than ½ of
the district; each vaccinator had 80 villages to look after. The large area to the
south of the Drug and Raipur road and to the west of the Raipur and Dhamtari
road and again the whole country south of a line passing east and west through
Dhamtari has not apparently been touched for the last two years. I cannot
understand on what principle the local authorities should have chosen about one-
sixth of the district in 1880-81 and ½ in 1881-82. If the area chosen in the
former year was as much as in their opinion could be safely taken for complete
protection as alleged, then it is clear that with the same staff that chosen for the
operations last season was much too large. It will be seen, however, that this
complete protection is not more so than is obtained in other districts with less
than half the staff.
The Assistant Surgeon who was sent out at the close of the season inspect-
ed a portion of the work of 5 vaccinators with the following result 1 Lalmohan,
630 children in 24 villages inspected, 609 successful, or 96.66 per cent; 2 Jaboo Lal,
497 children in 20 villages inspected, 447 successful, or 88.74 per cent; 3 Ibrahim
Sheriff, 620 children in 20 villages inspected, 488 successful, or 78.70 per cent; 4
Ganput Rao, of 12 villages inspected 8 were not vaccinated at all; in the other 4
the percentage of success was only 58.69; 5 Ganesh Pershad, of 9 villages inspec-
ted 5 were untouched, the other 4 giving a percentage of success of only 55.56.
In both these 2 last circles the forms and registers were all incorrect.
I think the plan of constantly changing vaccinators is a bad one. By
appointing a circle for each man and as a rule keeping him there, he becomes
known to the people, and if he possesses the requisite qualifications is much more
acceptable than a stranger, however efficient the latter may be. In many parts
of India where inoculation is practised, the people have their family inoculators