FOR THE YEAR 1878-79.
15
" The presence of cholera during the whole cold weather interfered with operations in
many places. It was generally distributed, of a severe type, and many deaths occurred ;
fever, of course, gave much trouble.
" Several of the thanas taken up had already been visited by men sent out from dis-
pensaries, and by others, stealing instruments and lymph and taking the name of Government
vacinators. Some were deserters or men dismissed from Government service. Their opera-
tions were almost uniformly bad, showing a very imperfect cicatrix and a deficient number
of vesicles. As these men had been ordered about and had been obliged to work only when
it suited the villagers, the same system of treatment was adopted towards Government
vacccinators desiring to progress steadily on from village to village leaving nobody unpro-
tected behind, the constant disputes which arose, and delays which were brought about show
how very undesirable it is even to carry on vaccine operations in any country except on a
regular understood system and under proper supervision. The work of these men caused
a large diminution of operations, as from being in a few villages here and there good work-
ing stocks of lymph were always being reduced to a low ebb on the Government men arriving
at such semi-protected villages.
" The number of persons vaccinated, 170, 986, is in excess of that of the season before
by 5,551 ; but more would easily have been done but for the reason above given. Each
vaccinator operated on an average of 3288.19 persons, of whom 99 per cent. were success-
fully done according to the annual report, 98.66 by my inspection of 32,389 persons, and
97.88 by the Deputy Suprintendent's inspection of 34,215.
" The success in secondary vaccination of 183 persons was 85.39 per cent. Each
successful case cost the Government 2 annas and 4 pie.
"The number of villages protected was 3,098, of which 2,948, were in Rnngpore,
128 in Dinagepore, 20 in Maldah, and 2 in Purneah. The villages vaccinated in Maldah
and Purneah were done to suppress small-pox, and not in the course of systematic
operations.
Statement showing the percentage of Sex, Age, and Caste in 170,803 parsons primarily
vaccinated in the Darjeeling Circle, 1878-79.
Males ... ... ... ... ...
Females ... ... ... ... ...
Under one year ... ... ... ... ...
Above one year ... ... ... ... ...
Christians ... ... ... ... ...
Hindoos ... ... ... ... ...
Mussalmans ... ... ... ... ...
Other castes ... ... ... ... ...
64.61
45.38
4.90
95.09
.00005
37.80
60.20
1.99
"From this it appears that fewer females were vaccinated than ought to have been.
They are often concealed from the vaccinators. The same is true of children under
one year.
" The percentage of Hindus and Mussalmans agrees very closely with that given in the
census of 1872, where they stand respectively at 39.9 and 60.0.
" Darjeeling Hills.—The work was well kept up on the hills during the seasons under
review with an increase of persons vaccinated of 1,611 over the year before.
" The plan adopted was to keep the men working over certain parts of the district
which had been for some years unvisited, so that every part may be in turn protected.
With one head vaccinator and three vaccinators it is found that it takes about three
years to get round the district, only some very distant and newly-cultivated forest clear-
ing being omitted. The measure of protection is now yearly improving, but the station
of Darjeeling is very dangerously situated with regard to small-pox. There is yearly
a large influx of unprotected persons from other districts who come as clerks, peons,
and servants of Government officers visiting the sanitarium on duty or for the sake
of health. Some regulation is necessary to protect the public health under such circum-
stances and to avoid the annual small-pox panic which occurs every spring and which
ought not to be a usual thing in a station set aside as a health resort. It would be
little to ask that the employés of Government offices should be required, if necessary, to
submit to vaccination at the hands of the medical officers in charge of such establishments
before or on arrival at Darjeeling, and that the officers in charge of the offices be held
responsible that this is done.
" The influx of coolies from Nepal is often attended by small-pox, but this should diminish,
as, I believe, a large portion of the population of Eastern Nepal is gradually being vaccinated.
The men come into British territory either alone or with their families, get vaccinated when
in residence as tea coolies, workmen on roads, or under wood contractors, and then return home.
It is a great pity some exact statistics cannot be procured of the influx and reflux of Nepalese,
as without them a proper idea of the state of protection of the district can never be gained.
It may be said that on all tea gardens on the hills to which vaccinators were sent during
last cold season only one manager rejected their services. Two or three in the Terai, where a
man was sent to stamp out small-pox, also declined, but they were apparently young men
without experience and afraid of their coolies absconding on any slight pretext.
" Small-pox was introduced from Nepal, Rungpore, and Sikkim in 1878-79, and by peons
of the Government Secretariat since the expiry of the year under review, but has been kept