2
Darjeeling the good result was due to greater prevalence of small-pox. No
explanation of the increase has been furnished by the Civil Surgeon of
Rajshahi, but it appears that it was due to a large number of revaccinations
performed during the recess in connection with the suppression of sporadic
cases of small-pox in several thanas of the district.
As regards decrease, it was very marked in Calcutta (80,898), Midnapore
(32,198), Chittagong (20,686), Noakhali (12,655), Hooghly including Serampore
(4,417), 24-Parganas including the suburbs (4,150) and Rangpur (3,817). In
Calcutta it amounted to 9,221 in primary operations and 71,677 in re-
vaccinations, owing to less severe prevalence of small-pox during the year
under report, the number of deaths from this disease being 731 against 2,743
during 1914-15. The decrease in Chittagong is said to be due to the fact
that four circles in the district remained vacant owing to want of vaccinators
and seven vaccinators worked only for two or three months during the
working season. The large number of vaccinations performed during the pre-
vious two years when small-pox prevailed severely over the greater part of
the district also contributed to this unsatisfactory result. In Noakhali the
large falling off was in revaccination, and this was due to the absence of any
outbreak of small-pox in the district during the year. The decrease in
Hooghly is accounted for by the absence of small-pox in epidemic form during
the year under report, while that in Rangpur was due to the abnormal preva-
lence of malarial fever and cholera in the Nilphamari subdivision of the
district during the first three months of the working season. The Civil
Surgeon of Midnapore writes that the decrease in vaccination in his district
was due to the fact that during the previous year small-pox prevailed epide-
mically in many places and people came forwared voluntarily to get themselves
vaccinated and more vaccinators had to be employed to carry on the increased
work, and moreover strict supervision was exercised during the current year
to get correct figures and false entries are believed therefore to be now much
fewer than formerly.
5. Vaccination in Municipalities.—In Calcutta 29,135 operations were
performed during the year against 110,033 during 1914-15, while in
mufassal municipalities, dispensaries, etc., the numbers amounted to 114,067
against 120,497. The decrease may be attributed to less severity of small-
pox during the year under report. The average number of persons vaccinat-
ed by a vaccinator in mufassal municipalities was 698 against 840 and that
done by licensed and paid vaccinators was 1,023 and 888 against 1,040 and
1,955, respectively, during the previous year.
6. Protection afforded to infants.—During the year under review out
of 1,182,154 available infants for vaccination 375,948 or 318.01 per mille
were successfully vaccinated. In 6 districts the protection was over 500 per
mille, while in the others it was below the standard. The lowest rate is
recorded by Bakarganj (62.57), where opposition to infant vaccination is very
great as reported in previous years.
The protection afforded to infants in municipalities is shown in Appendix
VII attached to this report. It will be seen that 712.71 per mille of the
surviving infant population was protected during the year.
7. Recess Work.—During the recess or non-working season of 1915-16,
215,752 operations were performed in connection with small-pox epidemics
against 118,585 of the previous year.
8. Six puncture Vaccination.—The total number of successful primary
and revaccination operations in six points in this Presidency was 259,157 and
10,212 respectively against 240,527 and 24,558 during 1914-15.
9. Factory and Tea Garden Vaccination.—During 1915-16 the total
number of primary and revaccination operations performed in factories and
tea-gardens in Bengal amounted to 6,796 and 4,083 respectively against 2,839
and 2,620 in the previous year.
10. Cost of and Contribution towards Vaccination.—The cost of
vaccination during the year was Rs. 1,95,942-3-9 against Rs. 1,95,210-10-8 in
the previous year. The average cost of each successful case of vaccination
was two annas and one pie against two annas and three pies.
The District Boards and Cantonments contributed Rs. 11,309-5-7 and
Rs. 97-10-6 against Rs. 5.556-5-4 and Rs. 96 respectively in the previous year.