6
REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY
The excess of 5,485 is due to the excess of 1,221 revaccinations shown
in the Nilgiris and 4,264 in Madras.
(c) Primary vaccinations.— Statement No. 4 gives the monthly returns
for the primary vaccinations performed in the Presidency during the
year. The combined success rate and insertion success rate for the whole
year is 96.7 per cent and 90.1 per cent, respectively, against 91.7 and 78.0,
respectively, for the year 1923-24 showing an improvement of 5.0 per cent
in the success rate, and 12.1 in the rate of insertion success. This is most
gratifying, for, the figures reached during the year are the highest in the
history of the King Institute. They compare very favourably with those
for the other Presidencies in India, as published in the Annual report
of the Public Health Commissioner with the Government of India
for the year 1922-23, the latest report available. The success rates in
primary vaccinations in some of the other Presidencies during that year
were as follows :—
Bengal
95.7 per cent.
Punjab
96.67
"
Central Provinces and Berar
99.06 "
Bombay
99.66 "
With greater care on the part of the vaccinators, and stricter super
-vision on their work by the District Health Officers, there is no reason
why the vaccination figures for this Presidency should not reach the
high standard attained in the Central Provinces and Berar or Bombay.
The potency of the glycerine lymph now manufactured in the Institute
is very high, and every brew is subjected to preliminary tests before it
is issued. The vaccination done during the year under report in the
Saidapet range, which is under the supervision of the Institute, gives a
success rate of 99.4 and insertion success rate of 98.2.
The combined monthly returns show a remarkable degree of unifor
-mity compared with the returns for the previous year, the lowest success
rate standing at 93.8 per cent in the month of May, and the highest at 97.8
in the month of December. (Vide statement No. 4.) With the exception
of May, and of June when the figures stood at 94.7, the success rate for
all the other months was above 95. The insertion success rate also has
shown marked improvement ; with the exception of the month of May,
when it stood at 83.3, during the rest of the year it was over 85. a figure
which was never
obtained in any month in the previous year.
It will be noticed that the numbers of vaccination during the months
of May, June and July were considerably reduced, and that in spite of
this hot weather decrease, a record number of operations was performed
during the year owing to greatly increased activities during the cooler
months. This, it was pointed out in the last year's annual report. is as it
should be :" for, the more the vaccinations carried out under the most
favourable conditions, the greater will be the number of immune persons
in the community." It will also be noticed that the success rate, and the
insertion success rate, are also low for the months of May, June and July.
Chart No. I depicts the monthly success rates and insertion success rates
for primary vaccinations for the year under review and also for the
previous year, and graphically represents the marked improvement that
has occurred during the year.
Statement No. 5 shows the success rates obtained for primary vacci
-nations in the different districts. The improvement that was noticed
in the report for the last year shows a marked increase during the current
year. There is conspicuous improvement in every district, and even the
worst districts show a considerably improved rate of success. This is
graphically represented in chart No. II, which shows the figures for the
previous year also. It will be seen that whereas during 1923–24 there
were nine districts which showed a success rate of under 90 per cent, there
is no district which during the current year shows a success rate below