Proceedings of the Hon'ble the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, in the Home (Medical and Sanitary)
Department, No. 703 S., dated Simla, 25th August 1893.
READ—
The Sanitary Commissioner's Report on Vaccination in the Punjab for the year 1892-93.
Paragraph 8 of the Report.
REMARKS.—The total number of vaccinations in the year 1892-93 was
greater than in the previous year, and the percent-
age of successful vaccinations for both primary
vaccinations and re-vaccinations taken separately was higher than in 1891-92.
This being so, it seems strange at first sight that the total number of successful
vaccinations in the year under report was slightly lower than in 1891-92. The
reason is that in the year 1892-93 a very much larger proportion of the vaccina-
tions performed were re-vaccinations, in which the percentage of successful opera-
tions is considerably lower than in primary vaccinations.
Paragraph 14.
2. Attention was drawn in the Review of the Report for the year 1891-92
to the striking variations exhibited in the returns
of successful re-vaccinations, and it was observed
that elsewhere His Honor had found that such variations were due to differences
of opinion as to what should be considered a successful re-vaccination. The
variations brought to notice in paragraph 14 of the present Report are still more
striking, and the Sanitary Commissioner observes that the figures " seem to
depend upon what each individual vaccinator considers successful." His Honor
would be glad to know whether it is not possible to issue instructions which
would remedy this. Any standard is better than none in such a case, and if it
is possible to say whether the result of the operation does or does not exhibit
the special characteristics of the disease, perhaps the best rule to lay down would
be that any case in which those special characteristics are recognizable in any
degree however low should be recorded as one of successful re-vaccination.
Paragraph 15.
3. The lowest ratios of persons successfully vaccinated per 1,000
of the population are recorded in the districts of
Hazára, Simla and Shahpur. The case of Simla
is exceptional. The figures given for Hazára appear to represent only the
vaccinations performed by the two District vaccinators, and do not include the
vaccinations performed in that district by the Provincial staff. The ratio in
Shahpur is much lower than it should be, especially considering that it is one of
the four districts for which a special Superintendent of Vaccination on Rs. 150
a month has been appointed.
4. The number of re-vaccinations and the proportion it bears to the
number of primary vaccinations has formed a subject of comment for the last two
or three years. The following remarks were made on this subject by the Lieute-
nant-Governor in last year's Review :—
" Sixty-seven thousand five hundred and fifty-four fewer operations of re-vaccination
were performed by the District staff than during the previous year. The decrease was due
to the fact that, as it had been found that vaccinators were in the habit of re-vaccinating
children who had been vaccinated only one or two years previously, orders were issued that
no person should be again vaccinated until seven years had elapsed since the previous
successful vaccination. The Lieutenant-Governor considers that it is well that this order
has been issued; otherwise our vaccination operations would become to a certain extent a
sham, as vaccinators would, with a view to increasing their tale of work, go on vaccinating
over and over again the children of such parents as felt no objection to vaccination."
From the present Report it would seem that there is a tendency to revert
to the previous state of things, for while primary vaccinations for the whole
Province have fallen from 567,597 to 515,639, or by 9.1 per cent., re-vaccinations
have risen from 162,063 to 225,148, or by 38.9 per cent. Further, if the returns
for particular districts given in Statement No. I for the year under review and
the preceding year can be believed to be correct, they point to the necessity of a
careful and minute scrutiny of the modus operandi adopted by our vaccinators.
His Honor is of course prepared for considerable variations from one district to