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ABSTRACT OF REPORTS BY CIVIL SURGEONS.
It seems that the introduction of Act IV (B.C.) of 1865 into this district has checked the
practice of inoculation. Six ex-inoculators were trained and deputed to the interior, with
instructions to keep registers of the cases performed and to submit fortnightly returns
through the officers in charge of the thanas in the jurisdiction of which they worked.
One only of the six furnished the returns and came back at the termination of the season
with his registers of cases. Of the remaining five nothing has been seen or heard of since.
They not only completely disregarded all instructions about the submission of returns, &c.,
but had not the honesty to return the vaccine lancets which were lent to them.
RAJSHAHYE DIVISION.
Dinagpore.—Vaccination was carried on by one man employed by the municipality,
his operations being confined within its limits. Dispensary vaccination does not seem to be
appreciated. The people, though not averse to the operation, are never in want of a pretext
to defer its performance. The native doctor of the jail hospital and the municipal vaccin-
ator performed 299 operations, of which there were 159 primary and 51 re-vaccinations
successful. Dr. U. C. Mookerjee, the civil medical officer, inspected them, and daily super-
vised the work in the jail, and whoever was newly admitted was protected if he was not
previously inoculated or vaccinated. Small-pox appeared in the town in August and within
the thana Birgang in April 1878, but timely measures were taken and the disease did
not extend. No inoculation is practised, as far as could be ascertained, within municipal
limits, nor were inoculators to be found, though attempts were made to detect if any of
them were practising in secret. The municipal vaccinator was trained by Dr. U. C.
Mookerjee.
Rajshahye.—The greater portion of the vaccination in this district was carried on
by vaccinators and ex-inoculators of the Darjeeling circle. The Beauleah municipality
employed a vaccinator who received, in addition to his monthly salary of Rs. 6, an allowance
of Rs. 3 for every hundred successful cases during the vaccine season, and worked
within municipal limits. He performed 1,024 primary operations, of which 924 were
successful, and 76 re-vaccinations with 52 successful cases. His work was closely
supervised by the Civil Surgeon, Dr. E. C. Bensley, and the Assistant Surgeon of
Beauleah dispensary. A vaccinator was also employed by the Nattore municipality on
a salary of Rs. 5 per mensem. His work, which was inspected by the native doctor of
Nattore Dispensary and Mr Bensley when on his cold weather tour of inspection, amounted
to 414 primary vaccinations, of which 401 were successful. No epidemic of small-pox
prevailed and this district enjoyed a remarkable immunity from this disease.
Rungpore.—There was not much dispensary vaccination done in this district, as most
of the work was carried on by the vaccinators of the Darjeeling Circle. There were three
vaccinators in the town of Rungpore, two working within municipal limits, and the third in
the village of Tashbunder and its neighbourhood. The native doctors of Deenhatta and
Dimla did a few cases themselves. As far as Dr. K. D. Ghose and his vaccinators were
concerned, he states that he found no difficulty in vaccinating the people, though
in out-of-the-way places they are probably averse to the operation, as Dr. Lidderdale told him
that he met with considerable opposition. There were 2,920 primary cases of vaccination, of
which 2,866 were successful. The work is deemed to have been very satisfactory, inasmuch as
when small-pox occurred none of the protected cases contracted the disease. Municipal
vaccination was supervised by Dr. K. D. Ghose and the native doctors in charge of the
dispensaries. Early in the season small-pox broke out at Jaldhaka, spread to thanas
Durwani, Dimla, and Phooronbaree, and 3,612 cases occurred with 589 deaths. The vaccine
department did everything they could to stamp out the disease, but it was too wide-spread
to be successfully dealt with by a limited number of vaccinators. Inoculation is not prac-
tised in the town of Rungpore nor in its neighbourhood, though it may be in some parts
of the district where Hindoos predominate. Nothing was done to train inoculators in the
practice of vaccination.
Bogra.—The vaccinator employed by the Bogra municipality from November 1878
to February 1879, on a monthly salary of Rs. 7, confined his work within municipal
limits. The civil hospital assistants in charge of the charitable dispensaries also vaccinated
a few cases among persons who desired it. There were 581 primary cases, of which 556
were successful. Mr. R. A. Barker, the civil medical officer, examined 116 and verified
the result with the register and found all correct. The people are not hostile to vaccin-
ation, but naturally indifferent and apathetic. Out of the 63 cases of small-pox which were
reported 15 proved fatal. The seizures were recommended to be isolated and the disease did
not spread. Inoculation is not practised, nor did ex-inoculators present themselves for
tuition in the practise of vaccination.
Pubna.—Two vaccinators were employed by the municipalities of Pubna and Seraj-
gunge, and they worked within municipal limits and in the neighbourhood. There were
1,027 primary, of which 766 were successful, and 9 re-vaccinations, 3 being successful.
The Civil and Assistant Surgeons inspected the work. Small-pox was not epidemic, though
it occurred in various parts of the district, but timely measures having been taken it was
suppressed. Inoculation is still prevalent in some parts of the district; but it is prohibited
from being practised in the thanas Pubna, Chatmohar, Doolai, Mathoorah, and Shazadpore,
where vaccinators under the Circle Superintendent were at work. One or two inoculators