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ABSTRACT OF REPORTS BY SUPERINTENDENTS.
higher classes, however, such as the Brahmins and Mohantees, still regard inoculation as a
religious institution, and strongly resist vaccination, especially in localities where it is carried
on for the first time. The lower classes are more amenable to reasoning and persuasion, and
with them less difficulty is felt in inducing them to submit to the operations. Some of the
zemindars and influential men still adhere to inoculation. An instance in point is submitted
by the Civil Surgeon of Cuttack. A zemindar, who is an intelligent man and a member of
the Municipal Corporation, was induced to have the two eldest of his five children inoculated.
After the eruptions had appeared on them, the three remaining children were attacked with
small-pox; one of them, a little girl died, and the other, his only son, narrowly escaped.
He was anxious to prosecute the inoculator for using bad lymph, or for being instrumental
in causing his child's death, but was told that in doing so he would be publishing his own
folly. He was heard to remark that if he could be misled by the inoculators, what must
be the mischief done by them when practising on the poor and public generally.
Local aid afforded to vaccination.
136. The Magistrate of Cuttack issued purwannahs to the police and zemindars in the
areas selected for the operations, and the police rendered every
assistance they could in promoting vaccination. But the
aid of the police was found to be of little use in inducing objectors to accept the prophylactic,
as their presence appeared to make the people more obstinate when they were told that they
were at liberty either to accept or reject vaccination, as there was no law in force to compel
them to submit to vaccination. With few exceptions the zemindars, as a rule, take little or
no interest in promoting vaccination.
Prevalence of small pox.
137. From the report of the Superintendent it appears that about the end of January
1881 small-pox broke out in Righagurh, in Kanika, in Cuttack.
The disease first appeared in the child of a carpenter, who
died. All his family of eight members afterwards caught the infection, and also died. The
disease then spread over 12 villages in the neighbourhood in the outpost Righagurh. It
lasted up to the beginning of March, and proved very fatal, most of the attacked having
died. Immediately on receipt of the report of the outbreak vaccinators are stated to have
been despatched to Righagurh. They worked there, and in other parts of Kanika throughout
the working season, vaccinating all the unprotected in and around the affected localities, and
succeeded in arresting the further progress of the disease. Many of the children in Kanika
were found to be unprotected, as the present Raja of the place had prohibited the practice
of inoculation within his territory. The people were so much afraid of catching the disease
that they with their children gladly accepted vaccination. Even old men willingly
submitted to the measure. Another outbreak also occurred about the middle of March in
Binjharpur. A batch of vaccinators was despatched to stamp it out, but owing to excessive
heat and the opposition of the people the vaccinators could not establish virus and carry on
their work with success.
The Civil Surgeons of Cuttack, Pooree and Balasore furnish the following facts relating
to the disease in their sanitary reports for 1880 : —
In Cuttack the disease was present in a very severe form throughout the year. It
prevailed epidemically in the Cuttack town from December 1879 to March 1880, and in the
sub-divisions of Jajpore and Kendrapara and in other parts of the district from April to
June 1880. Almost every circle in the district suffered with unprecedented severity. The
heavy mortality that occurred shows the unprotected state of the people as regards vaccin-
ation or even effectual inoculation. The disease is reported to have been spread by con-
tagion. On this point the Civil Surgeon says:—" There was no possible means of isolating
the sick when so many of the people were affected. The sick were warned to keep within
doors, but as soon as children, or even adults, were able to move about, they associated with
their fellows and disseminated the contagion at a time when it is considered to be most
infectious. The people regard small-pox as an ordinary disease, and allow their sick children
to play with their unprotected neighbours, perfectly regardless of the consequences." Another
means of infection is through the bedding and clothes of the diseased, which, being the
perquisites of the washermen, are taken, and before being washed or disinfected are mixed
up with the clothing of their other customers; and when it is considered how imperfectly
the clothes of the poorer classes are washed, the spread of the disease cannot be
wondered at. The Civil Surgeon himself knows of a case where the bedding and linen
were given to a sweeper to be burnt, but were instead partially washed in a stream and
carried home. The result was that the sweeper's wife and his two children got the disease
and the children died.
At Pooree small-pox prevailed very severely and widely, and was also very fatal.
Commencing in January, it overspread the whole district, becoming more and more fatal
in each succeeding month until July. In August its virulence abated slightly, but from
September it was active again, causing increased mortality month by month until the end
of the year. It was most fatal during the months of October, November and December,
and all the circles suffered to a more or less degree. The cases were numerous in the north
of the district and less on the sea-shore. Thanas Pipli and Khurdah were attacked first.
These thanas are nearest to Cuttack, and better connected with it by trunk roads. After
this the disease spread to other parts of the district. It was a continuation of the severe
outbreak that occurred in the last months of 1879, when it was prevailing epidemically in
the town of Cuttack. The Civil Surgeon, Dr. Gupta, refers this outbreak to the following
causes, viz. presence of small-pox in an epidemic form in the town of Cuttack and its
neighbourhood at the end of 1879 and beginning of 1880 ; free communication between
Cuttack and the district, specially with thanas Pipli and Khurdah, through the two main