5
Rs. 359,906-9-6 in the previous one and
the cost of each successful case 3 annas
and 6 pies and 3 annas and 4 pies during
the two triennial periods, respectively.
The increased average cost per case
during the present triennium was due to
the introduction of paid vaccination in
all the districts of the province.
12. Diagram illustrating Death-rates
from Smallpox and the degree of Protec-
tion afforded since the year 1916-17.—
The diagram facing this page shows side
by side the death-rates from smallpox in
each district and the proportion of the
population protected against the disease
by vaccination during the last 10 years.
13. Deaths from Smallpox.—The
quinquennial outbreak of smallpox,
which started in December 1924, conti-
nued throughout the year under review.
During 1925-26, it claimed 18,618 victims
from this Presidency against 10,443 in the
previous year. The death roll was
heavier on account of its prevalence in a
very severe form during the months of
April and May 1925. The present
quinquennial epidemic differed from the
previous one both in its intensity and
magnitude, being responsible for only
29,061 deaths against 63,150 of the
previous one. It was mostly confined to
Calcutta and its neighbouring districts
at least in its early stages, while during
the previous quinquennium it extended
all over the Presidency.
The largest
number of deaths (4,023, including 1,901
in Calcutta) was recorded in the 24-
Parganas, followed by Howrah (1,997),
Midnapur (1,576), Burdwan (1,452),
Hooghly (1,025), Murshidabad (948),
Birbhum (849), Dacca (760), Pabna
(679),
Mymensingh
(643),
Rang-
pur (603), Bankura (597), Bogra
(586), Chittagong (507), Dinajpur
(373), Jessore (358), Noakhali (354),
Nadia (304), Tippera (285), Farid-
pur (245) and Malda (192), while
in the remaining districts it was below
100. Five deaths occurred in the town of
Darjeeling and 14 cases in the jurisdic-
tion of Phulbazar thana of that district.
In the town, the first case was imported
from the Punjab, two others from Cal-
cutta and the fourth from Gaya. In the
Phulbazar thana, the first case occurred
in a person recently arrived from
Calcutta. Constant influx of people
from Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet into that
district was also responsible for the
spread of the disease. In other districts,
it was mostly the affected persons from
Calcutta and Howrah that started the
outbreak.
Timely intensive campaigns
of
vaccination
and
revaccination,
however, cut short the spread of the
epidemic to outlying areas. The various
Railway and Steamer Companies also
co-operated with the local bodies.
14. Different Methods of Vaccina-
tion.—The following table shows the
number of primary vaccinations and re-
vaccinations performed with lanolinated
and glycerinated lymph and the per-
centage of success in each case:—
Year
1925-26.
Lanoline lymph ..
Glycerine lymph ..
1924-25.
Lanoline lymph ..
Glycerine lymph ..
Primary vaccination.
Number.
2,410
1,748,075
849
1,054,352
Percent-
age of
success.
95.3
96.2
93.1
96.3
Revaccination.
Number.
3,375
1,275,712
383
1,007,482
Percent-
age of
success.
51.2
55.5
92.9
49.6
Lanoline lymph was used only in Murshi-
dabad and Mymensingh districts in very
small quantities, and was discontinued
by municipalities in Midnapur and
Hooghly districts, which were its sole
consumers in past years.
The figure
representing the percentage of success in
revaccination cases with lanoline lymph
in the previous year was found to be
incorrect on a local investigation by a
Special Inspector of Vaccination. There
is a great demand for glycerine lymph
on the whole and the day of the lanoline
paste seems to have gone.
15. Inspections.—The
Assistant
Director of the Dacca and Rajshahi
Circles inspected 1,559 operations, of
which 1,399 cases were found to be
successful.
The Assistant Director of
the Burdwan Circle inspected 672
children in several municipalities of his
Circle and found 135 of them successful
and 68 unprotected.
District Health
Officers and the Civil Surgeons of Darjee-
ling and the Chittagong Hill Tracts
inspected 3.04 per cent. primary and
2.05 per cent. revaccinations, while 41.2
per cent. primary and 22.6 revaccinations
were inspected by Assistant Superinten-
dents of Vaccination and 2.1 per cent.
primary and 5.03 per cent. revaccinations
by the Municipal Superintendents of
Vaccination and Municipal Sanitary
Inspectors.
Of the total number
inspected, 97.8 per cent. primary and
22.2 per cent. revaccinations were found
to have been successful by the District
Health Officers and the two Civil
Surgeons noted above, 98.1 per cent pri-
mary and 60.2 per cent. revaccinations by
2