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ABSTRACTS OF REPORTS FROM CIVIL SURGEONS.
" 10. On representing these circumstances to the superintendent of police, I was informed
that the men were fully occupied with work connected with the despatch of grain to the
distressed districts, and could not give attention to vaccination affairs.
" 11. But few of the inoculators were fully at work before the middle of February,
and consequently returns of their work did not reach me until well into March, by which
period my time was fully occupied with arrangements connected with medical relief to the
distressed districts, that it was difficult to leave the station for any considerable time.
Inspection was therefore chiefly confined to the work in the sudder station division, and I
visited a number of villages for this purpose both to the north and south of the river.
In all these I found a large amount of good vaccination being carried on, and the people
far more willing to submit to it than they are in the town. At one village, Narainpore,
as already mentioned, I found several cases of inoculation at the same time that vaccin-
ation was going on: these, I suspect, were done by the operators for their own reputation's
sake; many of the people are not yet sufficiently cognizant that the vaccination is successful
unless pimples appear on the body as in inoculation, and the operators therefore occasionally
find it necessary to have a case of undoubted small-pox to satisfy those who are doubtful.
" 12. Wherever I went, however, I endeavoured to collect the people together, and to
impress upon them the advantages to themselves of vaccination in preference to inoculation,
and I usually found them perfectly willing to listen, and ready to trust their children to the
village inoculator, whatever operation he might perform.
Inspection of work.
"13. Inspection of vaccinators work in the town was carried on by myself and by the
assistant surgeon constantly; though, from the scattered character of the various bazars
comprising it, it is difficult either to carry on the work or to inspect it systematically. Frequent
visits were made to that part which is occupied by Bengalis, who are usually well disposed to
vaccination, and the influential portion of whom assist and encourage it. To the south of the
town, also, an influential zemindar, Abdul Quadir Khan, gave good assistance, and I found the
children in his neighbourhood generally vaccinated; elsewhere it was often very desultory, and
the work of inspection most tedious, not unfrequently a journey of five or six miles being
required to see not more than as many cases.
"14. Besides the paid vaccinators, 10 of the inoculators applied for permission to
work in the town, which was granted ; they did not, however, meet with as much success even
as the paid vaccinators, only 168 cases having been returned as performed by them; some of
them brought back their perwannahs, saying that in consequence of the high price of food
they could obtain no practice.
" 15. Three of these men were found to be inoculating small-pox, and were prosecuted
and punished; in one case a death from small-pox having resulted from their proceedings ;
and the evidence in these cases tended to show that the people themselves had not specially
desired that their children should be inoculated in preference to being vaccinated.
" 16. In some few places arm-to-arm vaccination has been introduced; but it is by
no means general, and crusts are far more generally made use of. The disadvantage of this
is the constant necessity for new supplies, and it is found difficult to obtain them in sufficient
number in the early part of the season.
Purneah district.
Purneah district.—Dr. Picachy reports that one vaccinator, paid Rs. 10 a month by the
municipality, was employed throughout the year. He worked at the sudder dispensary, and
also in the adjacent villages. His operations were inspected by the civil surgeon and the
native doctor. Six hundred and twenty-seven persons were vaccinated, 557 successfully.
Of this number, 256 were Dhangurs. The better class of people are against vaccination, and
prefer inoculation, which is the prevailing practice in the district. Nineteen inoculators,
however, applied to Dr. Picachy for permission to vaccinate, and received perwannahs from
the magistrate after having been instructed in the art and practice of vaccination. Only
one man sent in a return of a few cases. Small-pox never prevails much in the district. A
few sporadic cases occurred in the adjacent villages, and three cases in the jail. Isolation of
the sick and vaccination of the unprotected arrested the disease in the jail.
Sonthal
Pergunnahs.
Sonthal Pergunnahs.—Dr. Cameron reports that 59 converted inoculators worked during
the past season and vaccinated 11,836 persons, of whom 10,785, or 94.1 per cent., were
successful. The report proceeds:—" These men are not paid anything by Government, but
are remunerated by fees not exceeding four annas for a boy and two annas for a girl from
their clients.
" As mentioned in previous reports, the ex-inoculators find their clients vaccinating
entire villages at one time, and keeping up other customs which they are accustomed to.
The areas within which they worked were attempted to be defined by granting authoriza-
tions to the men themselves, and assisting them by letters to ghatwals, headmen of villages,
&c., to enable them to carry on vaccination in fixed localities instead of going to other
places at a distance; but frequently these means did not succeed in consequence of