ABSTRACT OF REPORTS BY CIVIL SURGEONS.
67
The Civil Surgeon visited all the above-named municipalities and the larger villages
at Lalgolah, but the number of operations seen and verified by him was not furnished. All
the Assistant Surgeons also inspected the work of the vaccinators in their respective juris-
dictions, with the results noted below :—
Berhampore... ...
City Moorshedabad... ...
Azimgunge... ...
Kandi... ...
Lalgolah... ...
Jungipore... ...
Number of
villages visited.
6
50
13
6
4
the whole town
Number of
cases seen.
529
750
355
237
86
392
Number verified
as successful.
466
652
355
236
78
392
In none of the areas mentioned above are births registered. But eliminating Azim-
gunge and Lalgolah, the separate populations of which are not on record, the estimated
births in the rest of the towns amounts to Rs. 2,905; and calculated on this figure, the pro-
portion of infants vaccinated to number born comes to only 6 29 per cent. Of the Hindu
population 1.59 per cent. were operated on, of the Mahomedan 3.33 per cent, of the Christian
3.57 per cent., and of the other races 8.17 per cent. It is reported that the people are on
the whole not opposed to vaccination, but that some Mahomedan villages in Berhampore
are hostile to the measure, and as they are equally opposed to inoculation, the people in
them are consequently altogether unprotected. Since 1878, when the prohibitory law was
brought into operation in the district, inoculation, it is believed, has received a complete
check. Several cases of small-pox occurred in the district during the year. The disease
appeared first in Berhampore, where it was introduced by a Caboolie fruit-seller, from whom
some unprotected persons took the infection. It was stamped out by vaccination being
perseveringly pressed on the people. The Civil Surgeon feels confident that the outbreak
would have proved disastrous but for the circumstance of the town having been fairly
well vaccinated in previous years, and he reports a noteworthy fact, viz. that no one who was
vaccinated within the last seven years took the disease, whereas a large proportion of the
cases occurred in those who had been inoculated some years ago, and that almost all the
early sufferers were unprotected. At City Moorshedabad three deaths from the disease
were reported to have occurred; in the other towns none.
RAJSHAHYE AND COOCH BEHAR DIVISION.
12. Dinagepore.—In this district also no vaccinators were attached to any of the dispen-
saries. In the Dinagepore Municipality one vaccinator was employed on Rs. 10 per
mensem, paid from municipal funds, from the 22nd October 1880 to the 31st March 1881.
Lymph and crusts were obtained from the Superintendent of the Darjeeling Vaccination
Circle, which proved fairly successful, and the virus was kept up by arm-to-arm vaccination,
the result proving satisfactory. Attempts were made to ensure complete vaccination, as far
as possible, of one area before another was taken up. The total work performed is shown
in the subjoined table as compared with the results of 1879-80 :—
In 1880-81...
In 1879-80...
Total number vaccinated.
550
353
Average number vaccinated by
each vaccinator.
550
353
PRIMARY VACCINATIONS.
Total.
484
338
Successful.
Under one year.
45
One year and
under six.
176
No data.
Total of all ages.
420
227
Re-vaccin-
ations.
Total.
66
15
Successful.
63
11
Percentages
of success-
ful cases.
Primary.
86.8
67.2
Re-vaccination.
95.5
73.3
RELIGION OF THE VACCINATED.
Number vaccinated.
Hindus.
250
Mahomedans.
270
Christians.
1
Other races.
29
Proportion per cent. to
total vaccinated.
Hindus.
45.5
Mahomedans.
49.1
Christians.
.18
Other races.
5.3
No data.
exhibiting fair progress both in the number vaccinated and the success that attended the
operations. But a percentage of 86.8 successful primary vaccinations, is susceptible of im-
provement, and a rate of 95.5 successful secondary operations is suspicious. No births are
registered in the Dinagepore Municipality, but the infant vaccinations, compared with the
estimated births—438—yield a proportion of only 10.27 per cent. of infants vaccinated
to number born. The figures under the head of religion show that 3.86 per cent. of the
Hindu population, 3.37 per cent. of the Mahomedan, 1.01 per cent. of the Christian, and
35.80 per cent. of the other classes, were operated on. The Civil Surgeon and the medical
officer of the Sudder dispensary saw 276 cases of vaccinations, and found that 256 of this
number had been successfully operated on, against 137 cases in the preceding, showing
considerable progress in the work of inspection. There was no outbreak of small-pox during
the year in the municipality. Only one case of chicken-pox occurred, which however
recovered speedily.