12
REPORT OF VACCINATION IN BENGAL
Number of
" thikarts."
Causes of
non-success in
employing them
" The number of inoculators—here called "thikarts"—in Hazareebagh is, according to the
register, 35 ; but the amount of work furnished by any of them, excepting those in immediate
contact with working parties of the Government establishment, has hitherto been almost nil.
The Hazareebagh thikarts I have frequently tried to organize as the Lohardugga inoculators
have been organized, but from the irregular way in which they have as yet been got at, and
from their having been furnished with perwannahs of various kinds and values, the
magistrate's, the civil surgeon's, or some native doctor's, their work has been anything
but what it should have been. Many of them have often relapsed to their old custom of
inoculation, and nothing but their being taken in hand systematically will ever get any good
out of them. If they could be got to come together at the beginning of the season and
could be distributed to the different thanas, some supervision might yet make them worth
the entertaining This has been tried before, but perhaps the other parts of this larger circle
demanded more attention then, and Hazareebagh was not so systematically worked at as it
might otherwise have been.
" Besides the resident ex-inoculators, there are some Brahmin operators who come from
the Manbhoom district, and work during the cold weather in Hazareebagh.
Lohardugga.
" 12. There is one portion of the Lohardugga district which very much resembles
Hazareebagh in the matter of ex-inoculators, viz. Palamow. There are a few resident malis
who formerly practised inoculation and now have learnt to vaccinate. Their number is
much too small to cover the whole of Palamow, and nothing short of placing a vaccinator in
each thana will afford vaccination to the sub-division.
"13. Lohardugga district is in a state quite different from that of the rest of the circle.
There are two agencies at work—one local or resident, the other imported.
Pundas
Native Christians
" The local agency consists of, first, a few hereditary inoculators, here called pandas, who
have learnt vaccination and practise it desultorily; and second, some educated Native Christians,
who work chiefly among the congregations in connection with the Chota Nagpore missions.
The imported agency consists of the Brahmin pandas from Manbhoom so often referred to in
former reports. For several years these men have done pretty well, but they begin to find
their field of operations to be intruded on by those above mentioned, and indeed by the
establishment vaccinators, so that they wish now to proceed further west into the tributary
states of Juspore and Sirgoojah, which are beyond the limits of the Ranchee circle
Work done.
" The amount of work done by the above agencies in Lohardugga during the last five
years amounts to 48,659.
Apprentices
" 14. A further agency employed is the apprentices or oomedwars. While an appren-
tice is learning to vaccinate, a considerable amount of good work is done, and after he has
learnt to vaccinate and is no longer properly an apprentice, he continues for a considerable
time to work along with his party until a vaccinatorship becomes vacant. This sort of work
is carried on from year to year wherever the parties on the Government establishment may
be employed.
Work done by
unpaid agency in
1874-75.
"15. The following notes represent the vaccination in the Ranchee Circle during the season
1874-75 by agency unpaid by the State.
" I think it is fair to place over against the work done the cost of inspection, and this
may form a fair basis for calculating what can be done towards a complete system of
supervision.
Manbhoom
" 16. In Manbhoom there are 100 vaccinators' names entered on the register. Of these,
25 were employed during 1874-75 against 29 in 1873-74. During this year nine Hindus-
tanis were also employed; last year six.
Work done
" The outturn of cases was 16,561 with 12,478 successful, against 15,150 with 9,775 success-
ful in 1873-74, and the percentage of success was 94.19 against 87.85. The increase in cases
is 1,411, and in successful cases 2,703. The total cost this year is Rs. 1,150, against Rs 1,367
last year. Each case cost one anna one pie instead of one anna five pie. The chief improve-
ment in Manbhoom is that sub-division Govindpore has been begun; 12,032 cases were done
in it alone. Colonel Morton, the Deputy Commissioner of Manbhoom, has placed all the
vaccinators under the " orders and supervision " of the civil surgeon, " so as to be under his
immediate control," and Mr. Wilson seems quite ready to assume the direction and superin-
tendence of vaccination in Manbhoom.
Singbhoom.
Work done.
"17. In Singbhoom, out of 51 names on the register, there were 12 employed during
this season and 24 in the season before. 12,118 cases were done with 11,750, or 96.96 per cent.
successful, against 17,177 with 16,722, or 97.33 per cent. successful in 1873-74. The decrease
was thus 5,059. - The cost of inspection was Rs. 55, against Rs. 45 last year, or an average
of one-third per case A considerable amount of work was done by apprentices attached to
one of the parties which moved into Singbhoom in January. The exact number done is not
recorded. It was over 600.
Hazareebagh
" 18. From Hazareebagh we have no account of any work by the hereditary inoculators.
The apprentices attached to parties did 3,784 cases, of which 3,170 were successful..
Lohardugga
"19. From Lohardugga there are no reports of the work of the Native Christians this
year, but some work has, I am told, been done. The outturn of the pandas to whom " beats "
were granted in November is 20,534, with 17,592 of successful cases, or 92 29 per cent. There