2
operations, the number of districts are
equally divided in the list of increase
and
decrease.
Mymensingh
with
49,380 operations stands first in the
one while Pabna with 19,758 heads
the
other.
Bakarganj,
Howrah,
Bogra , Tippera, Noakhali,
Dacca,
Rangpur, Chittagong and 24-Parganas
recorded
an
increase of 12,383,
12,242, 11,970, 11615, 10,958, 8,958,
8,417, 7,687 and 7,677 primary opera-
tions respectively, while Midnapur,
Khulna, Faridpur, Jessore, Malda,
Dinajpur and Rajshahi showed a de-
crease of 13,231, 13,088, 6,675, 6,148,
5,829, 5,583 and 5,109 operations
respectively.
There was a general decline in re-vac-
cination in 19 districts; of these
Calcutta heads the list with a de-
crease of 11,016 followed by Rajshahi
with 10,953, Rangpur with 6,529, jalpai-
guri with 5,792, Bankura with 4,104,
Tippera with 4,074, Jessore with 3,442,
Dacca with 3,311, Murshidabad with
3,290, Faridpur with 2,893, Dinajpur
with 2,280, Midnapur with 2,147 and
Bakarganj with 2,143. In other 6 dis-
tricts, viz., Chittagong Hill Tracts, Mal-
da, Nadia, Howrah, Birbhum and
Pabna, it was below 2,000 and calles
for no special notice. The cause of
decline in Calcutta may be attributed
to the want
of incentive on the
part of the people due to small
number of deaths from small-pox.
But in other districts the causes of
this general falling off in re-vaccination
have been ascribed to (1) apathy of
the people towards re-vaccination, (2)
want of power under the Vaccination
Act to enforce re-vaccination and (3) want
of help from the police, chaukidars
and Panchayats. The absence of small-
pox in epidemic form is also another
factor for the decline. The increase in
re-vaccination was noticed in Chitta-
gong (13,153), Burdwan
(12,035),
Mymensingh,
(5,512),
24-Parganas
(4,448) and Noakhali (3,257).
In
Khulna, Bogra, Darjeeling and Hoogh-
ly the increase was below 1,000. It
appears from the report of the District
Health Officer of Chittagong that the in-
crease was due to the prevalence of small-
pox in a fairly epidemic form. The di-
sease was imported from the Arrakan
District of Burma by the labouring
classes during the crop season. The
increase in both primary and re-vaccina-
tion operations in Darjeeling is ascribed
by the Civil Surgeon to the occurrence of
smallpox cases in Kalimpong Circle
where 5 cases and 4 deaths from this cause
were recorded; most of these cases being
imported from Sikkim and Tibet.
The general progress of vaccination
work in rural areas during the last two
years shows the benefit of free vaccination
which the people in general have come to
realise. But in some districts, such as
Chittagong, Hooghly, Dinajpur and
Faridpur, where people could not be in-
duced to accept vaccination, they have
got to be vaccinated by the enforcement
of law.
5. Vaccination in municipalities.—
In Calcuttta 36,073 operations were per-
formed during the year against 49,189
during 1922-23. In mufassal municipa-
lities, dispensaries, etc., the number
amounted to 174,670 with success of
118,927 against 153,682 total and a suc-
cess of 100,030 during the preceding
year. The average number of persons
vaccinated by each vaccinator in mufas-
sal municipalities was 636 against 677
in 1922-23.
6. Protection afforded to infants.—In
1923-24 the proportion of infants suc-
cessfully vaccinated in the rural areas
of this Presidency per 1,000 of popula-
tion shows a general decrease as com-
pared with the preceding year, the
ratios for the two years being 251.2 and
268.1 respectively in the case of children
under one year of age. Out of 1,355,980
number of infants available for vaccina-
tion, 278,286 infants were successfully
vaccinated. On an analysis of the
figures of the different districts, it ap-
pears that only in three districts (Mal-
da, Darjeeling and Rajshahi) against
six (Malda, Darjeeling, Tippera, Jalpai-
guri, Khulna and Dinajpur) during the
previous year the protection afforded to
infants was over 500 per mille. The
districts in the Dacca Division as usual
are the worst. People are generally
averse to have their children vaccinated
until they are several years old.
Special Inspectors of Vaccination were
deputed during 1923-24 to investigate
the registration of births and ascertain
the state of vaccination of infants in
Panihati, Barrackpur, Kharda, Kamar-
hati, Barasat, North Dum-Dum and
South Dum-Dum Municipalities. They
made out a list of all children born dur-
ing 1922 in those places and then by
house to house visit ascertained the pro-
tection afforded to them by vaccination.