ABSTRACT OF REPORTS BY CIVIL SURGEONS.
31
were convicted of inoculating within the proscribed areas and fined by the civil authorities
No inoculators were trained.
Darjeeling.—Only one vaccinator was employed by the Darjeeling municipality. He was
under the orders of the Civil Surgeon when the Superintendent of Vaccination was absent from
the station, and both of them inspected his work. This operator worked within municipal
limits, but his services were sometimes lent to the tea-planters in cases of emergency and
when his services could be spared. There were 971 primary cases of which 953 were success-
ful, and 83 re-vaccinations, 73 being successful. There is considerable opposition, especially
among the Bengali Baboo class, and though a case of small-pox occurred in their midst
the majority refused to be protected. These Baboos are generally clerks in the office
establishments which go up from Calcutta, and Mr. Purves, the Civil Surgeon, recommends
that they should be examined before going to Darjeeling to see whether they have been vacci-
nated or not, and that they should furnish a certificate of vaccination embodied in the general
health certificate. If the station had not been well protected, there might have been a small-
pox epidemic, as two cases were imported from Calcutta by two clerks. Out of a district
population of nearly 100,000 only ten deaths occurred from this disease, nine of which were
registered in the hill sub-division of Kalimpoong, where vaccination had been opposed.
Small-pox is, as a rule, imported from Nepaul and the plains, and the last two cases were from
Calcutta. Inoculation seems to be still practised, but no inoculators were trained.
Julpigoree.—There was no vaccinator employed in this district by any municipality or
dispensary. The medical officers of Julpigoree and Titalya dispensaries vaccinated 29 and
28 cases respectively, all being primary, and the work was once inspected by the Civil Surgeon
Mr. Spry, who states that the people willingly accept vaccination. There were Government
vaccinators under the Superintendent of Vaccination, Darjeeling Circle, and they protected
almost every part of the district. No inoculation was practised nor were inoculators
trained. No small-pox prevailed during the year under report.
ORISSA DIVISION.
Cuttack.—Dispensary vaccination in this district comprises that performed by three vacci-
nators, paid by the Cuttack municipality and by the several native doctors attached to
the mofussil dispensaries. The municipal men performed 1,308 primary and 140 revacci-
nations, of which 1,017 and 82 respectively were successful; their work was entirely
confined to the town of Cuttack. In the " khas mehal" states of Ongool a vaccinator
was maintained who performed 345 successful operations in a total of 451 primary cases,
and 12 out of 29 re-vaccinations. Two operations were successful out of three performed
by the native doctor of Dhurmsala. In the dispensaries of Kendrapara and Jenpore but
few operations were performed, as the vaccinators of the Orissa Circle have been working
in their neighbourhood during the past three years. Mr. Stewart states that he experienced
great difficulty in establishing lymph as the contents of the tubes first received from
Calcutta did not prove successful. He had also great difficulty in keeping up a supply,
as the natives have a strong dislike to parting with it for arm-to-arm vaccination. They
evince but little desire to protect themselves and their offspring from small-pox; but
much of this is due to ignorance of the great risk they incur as there have not been
any severe ravages of the disease. Many of them resort to the native practice of inoculation.
Pooree.—One vaccinator was employed from November 1878 to April 1879, his monthly
salary of Rs. 10 being paid from the Pooree Lodging-house Fund He was engaged
working in the town of Pooree and in a few selected neighbouring villages from which
the supply of lymph was kept up, as the people of the town are averse to having it taken
off the arms of their children and much opposed to the operation, their prejudices being
chiefly religious. The total number of cases was 310 all primary, of which 278 were
successful and 32 unsuccessful or doubtful. This is the second consecutive year that this
district has enjoyed an immunity from an epidemic of small-pox; but insolated cases
did occur in all the thanas, of which Khoordah evidently suffered the most, having
42 out of a total number of 111 deaths. The precise extent to which the practice of inocula-
tion prevails in the district is not known, as there are no means of ascertaining facts of
this nature; but Dr. B. Gupto has lately requested the civil authorities to make an
attempt to collect statistics, bearing upon this practice and its consequent mortality. These
he hopes to embody in his next annual report. No inoculators were trained during the past
vaccine season.
Balasore.—The Balasore municipality employed a vaccinator on Rs. 10 per mensem
for five months; his work was confined to municipal limits. Civil Surgeon Zorab per-
sonally visited influential natives and endeavoured to obtain their assistance in getting
subjects for vaccination, but with poor success. The total number of cases was 183, of
which 163 were primary and 19 re-vaccinations. The people are very unfavourably dis-
posed towards the operation. Inoculation has been prohibited within municipal limits,
but is very prevalent in the other parts of the district. There were 156 deaths from small-pox,
not very few in the town of Balasore, and no deaths. Sorah and Baliapaul, to the
south and north of the district, respectively, had the largest mortality from small-pox.
DACCA DIVISION.
Dacca.—Seven vaccinators were employed in this district—six at the Mitford hospital,
three being paid by Government and three by the Municipality, and one at Manickgunge