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ABSTRACT OF REPORTS BY SUPERINTENDENTS.
Inspection.
149. The verification of the work of the vaccination staff was carried out by the Superin-
tendent. He spent, he says, most of the time from October
1880 to March 1881 in the performance of this duty. He
tested the work of each batch or division of the staff
once every month, that is, on the whole five or six times during the season. He visited 365
villages, most of them twice or thrice. He thus saw 9,713 cases of vaccination, or in the
proportion of 67.75 of the total number vaccinated—14,336. The successful cases verified
by him amounted to 9,379, or 96 56 per cent. of the cases that came under his observation.
Judged by these figures, his work must be considered to have been efficiently performed.
Inoculation
150. Inoculation is reported to have been extensively practised even in those places where
the prohibitory law has been brought into operation. Nine
inoculators were prosecuted during the year—six at Barh
and three at Bankipur. Of this number, seven were convict-
ed and punished—six by fines and one by imprisonment. The prohibitory law was extended
during the year to thanas Mussoorie, Futwa, Buktearpore and Barh.
Attitude of the people towards vaccin-
ation.
151. The people in general are not well disposed towards vaccination, particularly the
higher classes, whose example is followed by the others. The
Hindus are the greatest opposers, and among them the
Brahmins and Rajpoots, who form a large and combined
community, are very obstinate and refractory, and in addition to preventing their own
children from being vaccinated, they do not allow others in their villages to accept the
prophylactic. The people doubt the protective power of vaccination, on the ground that it
does not cause eruptions to appear on the body in the same manner as inoculation does.
Then, again, the inoculators instigate the people against the measure; and the belief that
with vaccination fresh taxes will be imposed still prevails strongly. In the new localities
that were brought under operation this year, much difficulty in introducing vaccination was
felt at first; but by taking on the local inoculators as apprentices, the opposition was to some
extent overcome, except at Barh, where the people still resisted it.
Local aid for promoting vaccination.
152. In this respect the police-officers in Barh rendered every assistance, but in other places
they exhibited great apathy and indifference The zemindars
took no interest in the matter, and sometimes went so far
as to oppose the progress of vaccination. Referring to the
complaint that the police are apathetic and indifferent, the Commissioner of the Division
remarks that it is not advisable to resort to police assistance—a course which is likely to be
misunderstood by the people, and which will, be fears, render the operations more unpalatable
to the people. Although averse to taking any coercive measures, he believes that until
actual coercive measures are taken throughout the districts against the inoculators, there is
no hope for general success in vaccination.
Prevalence of small-pox.
153. From the Superintendent's report it appears that there was no epidemic outbreak of
small-pox. From September 1880 to March 1881, 277 sporadic
cases, with 42 deaths, were reported by the police and the
vaccination staff. Of the number attacked 144 were ascer-
tained to have been unprotected and 6 protected by inoculation. In those cases reported
by the vaccination staff, the largest sufferers were ascertained to be Brahmins who had
refused vaccination in previous years. Some of the local outbreaks were suppressed by
vaccination.
The mortuary returns show that in the areas under operation 351 deaths, or at the rate of
.61 per 1,000 of population, occurred from small-pox, the months of April to July 1880 and
February and March 1881 showing the largest number of casualties. The death-rates in these
areas ranged from .22 to .80 per 1,000 of population. From the sanitary report of the Civil
Surgeon of Chumparun for 1880 it appears that small-pox again prevailed very severely in
that district, and was most fatal in the hot weather and disappeared gradually on the setting in
of the rains. The disease is said to be propagated by inoculation, which is usually commenced
in March, corresponding with the time of higher mortality from the disease. He again
notices that the persistent prevalence of the disease is traceable to the ex-inoculators having
reverted to their former practice of inoculating, owing to their not having been paid the
rewards offered them, on the ground that they had not performed a sufficient number of
operations to entitle them to the remuneration. This is well illustrated by the facts that
when vaccination was pushed on through these ex-inoculators during 1875 to 1878, the
mortality from small-pox was very low indeed, an average of 132 persons dying yearly
during these four years ; while in 1879 and 1880, during which the ex-inoculators did not
vaccinate, but had reverted to inoculation, the number of deaths rose to 697 in the former
year and 564 in the latter. Experience has, however, amply shown that to turn ex-inoculators
loose on a district without supervision is most unadvisable and attended by the worst results
as regards good vaccination.
Mortality among infants.
154. Four thousand seven hundred and sixty-four infants are reported to have died from
all causes in the areas under operation. This number yields
a percentage of 27.74 infant deaths to number born. It has
been shown before that the percentage of infants vaccinated
to births is 10.13. It follows therefore that 62.13 per cent. of the number born during the
year were left unprotected.
R. LIDDERDALE, M.D.,
Sanitary Commissioner for Bengal.