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of this presidency as far as vaccination is concerned. In the following
remarks, I shall be as brief as possible; but even if they be longer than I
expect, I feel sure it will be easier for the general reader to have the impor-
tant points laid before him, than for him to attempt to analyse the tables
and figures for himself : and, what is of equal importance, my remarks on
the different districts will give, in few words, the chief points for compari-
son with the work to be shown in next report.
Presidency circle.
53. The Presidency circle consists of Bombay city ; which has a popu-
lation of 644,405 and an area of 19 square
miles. For this circle there is a superinten-
dent, Assistant Surgeon Anantá Chandrobá,
G.G.M.C., who had 11 vaccinators and 11 peons under him, during the past
year, but there are now 16 and 5 respectively. They primarily vaccinated
10,027 persons, of whom 8,665 were successful, 1,187 unsuccesful and in
446 the result was unknown. Of the unsuccessful, only 271 were operated
on a second time. The success was thus only 87.9. The cow-lymph was
lost during the months of July and August and vaccination was carried on
by lymph in tubes received from the other circles. The great number of
failures with this tube-lymph swelled the unsuccessful and has affected the
percentage of success for the whole year. There were 3,880 revaccinated of
whom 69 were operated on twice. The percentage of success was 53.5. The
average number of persons operated on by each vaccinator was 1,264. The
total number of persons operated on was 2,508 less than in the preced-
ing year. Mr. Anantá Chandrobá attributes this decrease chiefly to the
great number of children protected by small-pox in the epidemic of that year.
The exact number of births in Bombay is probably not known to any one
but I estimate it at 25 per mille. Bombay like all large cities has a large
number of non-breeding men who have left their wives in their country-
homes, consequently the birth-rate is low. The number of births is proba-
bly about 16,000 and we might primarily vaccinate nearly 15,000 children
per annum or just about 5,000 more than were primarily vaccinated last
year. I estimate that there are probably 5,000 of the children born in
1873-74 left unprotected. With such an annual residue, there must inovi-
tably be an epidemic of small-pox every few years ; especially as the disease
is endemic in Bombay and is also constantly imported from the coast of Africa
and the Persian Gulf. This cannot be considered satisfactory ; and what
is even worse, I cannot promise myself much progress without a compulsory
vaccination Act. I doubt very much if as large a proportion of children
could be vaccinated in London, Liverpool or Manchester without a com-
pulsory Act. At the end of the year, the number of vaccinators was in-
creased from 11 to 16 and the peons diminished from 11 to 5, in the hope
that more operators will be able to cover more of the city, and so still give
further facilities to the people to obtain vaccination. There is now little or
no trouble given to parents, for human-lymph is seldom used and a calf is
taken to the very street where work is going on. The average cost of each
successful vaccination is high (Rs. 1-1-3) as compared with the other circles;
but this is unavoidable, even with a compulsory Act it will be high. Since
writing the foregoing lines Dr. Weir, the Health Officer of Bombay Munici-
pality, has been so good as to inform me that there were 15,665 deaths and
12,722 births registered in the calendar year 1873. If these figures be
correct the inhabitants of Bombay city must be fast dying out: but I
think it is more reasonable to say that the figures are not correct.