4
With the exception of the jails there
was an increase over the preceding year
in the number of operations performed
by every other agency. With regard
to tea gardens, the figures received in
the Public Health Department are in-
complete due to the fact that since the
transfer of the vaccination work in Jal-
paiguri from the Civil Surgeon to the
District Health Officer, reports of the
vaccination cases are not being regular-
ly furnished by the managers of the tea
gardens to the latter. Thus during the
year under review only 120 operations
were reported to have been performed
in the numerous tea gardens in that
district. The attention of the Duars
Planters' Association was drawn to the
matter but it is noticed with regret that
no real improvement has yet been effect-
ed. I take this opportunity to state
that the Railway and Steamer compan-
ies who were invited to co-operate with
the Public Health Department in pre-
venting the dissemination of small-pox
rendered their best assistance in achiev-
ing the end. During the year 26,055
and 12,045 vaccination operations were
performed respectively within the rail-
way limits and in the area under the
jurisdiction of the Port of Calcutta
against 24,109 and 11,274 during the
previous year.
8. Protection afforded to infants.—
During the year under report the pro-
portion of infants successfully vaccina-
ted throughout the Presidency per 1,000
of the infant population available for
vaccination was 275.4 as compared with
262.6 of the preceding year. The in-
crease appears to be due to the work
done in Calcutta, where 1,442.7 infants
per mille of the available infant popula-
tion were successfully vaccinated dur-
ing the year against 472.6 during 1923-
24. Out of the total of 1,112,074 in-
fants available in the whole Presidency
for vaccination, 306,344 children were
successfully vaccinated. An analysis
of the figures of the various districts
shows that only in two districts (Malda
and Rajshahi) the proportion of such
successfully vaccinated infants was over
500 per mille against three (Malda,
Darjeeling and Rajshahi) during the
previous year. In Dacca Division as
usual it was very low in every district
especially in Faridpur and Bakarganj
districts where it was 61.3 and 45.2 res-
pectively. Compared with the rural
areas,
the mufassal municipalities
showed a much higher degree of protec-
tion, the proportion being 253.3 per
mille for the former and 503.0 per mille
for the latter. On the other hand,
when compared with the preceding
year, the rural circles showed an in-
crease of .8 per cent. over the preceding
year in the degree of protection, the mu-
fassal municipalities recording a de-
crease of 11.3 per cent.
9. Recess Vaccination.—The total
number of operations performed during
the recess or non-working season of the
year under report was 199,228 against
188,065 during 1923-24, showing an in-
crease of 5.9 per cent. over the preced-
ing year.
10. Six puncture vaccination.—A
total of 130,211 primary and 2,296 re-
vaccination opperations was successfully
performed in six points during the year,
as compared with 142,422 and 4,099 res-
pectively during the last year. The
decrease is attributable to the unpopu-
larity of the six-point vaccination.
11. Cost and contribution towards
vaccination.—The total cost of vaccina-
tion during the year under review was
Rs. 4,62,748-12 as compared
with
Rs. 4,27,734-9-1 during the preceding
year. The average cost of each success-
ful case of vaccination during the year
under report was three annas and six
pies only against three annas and nine
pies only during 1923-24. It has al-
ready been stated that the local Govern-
ment made a special contribution of
Rs. 25,000 to the District Boards for
anti-small-pox work in addition to the
usual recurring grant of Rs. 25,000 for
promoting free vaccination.
12. Diagram illustrating death rates
from small-pox and the degree of protec-
tion afforded since the year 1915-16.—
The death rates from small-pox in each
district and the proportion of popula-
tion protected against the disease by
vaccination during the past ten years
are shown side by side in the diagram
facing this page.
13. Deaths from small-pox.—True
to the forecast of Dr. C. A. Bentley made
in the Bengal Public Health Report for
1922, the quinquennial recrudescence of
small-pox in an epidemic form occurred
in 1924-25. Although every precaution
so far as practicable was taken to coun-
teract the apprehended recrudescence yet
small-pox exacted a toll of 10,443 souls
from Bengal during the year against
3,906 and 7,468 deaths during the two