2
The total cost of the Department was Rs. 98,508, or Rs. 3,671 less than
in the previous year. There was a considerable decrease under the head of
" Travelling allowance," owing to the deputation of Dr. James to the plague-
infected district of Jullundur for upwards of five months.
Cost of each successful
vaccine operation.
5. The cost of each successful operation was
exactly the same as last year, viz., 2 annas and 2 pies.
Vaccinations performed
by different establishments.
6. The subjoined table gives the vaccination operations performed by
different establishments during the years 1896-97 and
1897-98:—
District Staff
... ... ... ...
Special Staff ... ... ... ..
Cantonments
...
... ... ...
Dispensaries ... .. ... ...
Total
...
..
1896-97.
Primary.
Num-
ber.
596,686
67,780
4,875
3,737
673,078
Per cent.
success-
ful.
93.97
86.93
91.92
89.11
93.22
1897-98.
Primary.
Num-
ber.
553,317
72,031
5,185
1,241
631,774
Per cent
success-
ful.
95.16
88.73
95.08
80.50
94.40
1896-97.
Re-vaccination.
Num¬
ber.
188,777
34,113
4,218
2,227
229,335
Per cent.
success-
ful.
59.19
61.84
66.00
64.53
59.76
1897-98.
Re-vaccination.
Num-
ber.
180,564
31,104
1,482
567
213,717
Per cent.
success-
ful.
59.21
69.07
80.70
52.91
60.77
The total number of operations performed by different establishments in
1897-98 amounted to 845,491, showing a decrease of 56,922 as compared with
the figures for the previous year, a reduction of 41,304 under primary and
15,618 under that of re-vaccinations.
Work of District Staff.
7. There was a total of 553,317 primary vaccinations done by the
Vaccinators of the District Staff against 596,686 during
the previous year, or a decrease of 43,369 ; the quality of
work done, however, was better, the percentage of success being 95.16 as
compared with 93.97 in 1896-97.
Districts with large de-
crease.
8. The greatest diminution in the number of primary operations during
the year took place in the Dera Ismail Khan district, viz.,
9,139. In Dera Gházi Khan also, there was a considerable
falling off in the operations, the decrease amounting to 5,906, and in the districts
of Hissár, Rohtak, Umballa, Ludhiána, Ferozepore, Mooltan, Montgomery,
Ráwalpindi and Muzaffargarh the decrease varied between three and four
thousand.
Districts showing in-
crease in primary vaccina-
tions.
9. There were four districts in which there was a marked increase,
viz., Shahpur, Jhang, Gajránwála and Karnál, the amount
of increase ranging between two and four thousand.
Causes of decrease.
10. The Civil Surgeons attribute the great falling off in the number of
primary vaccinations chiefly to the high mortality among
children during the year and partly to failure of lymph
and carelessness of the vaccination staff. The Civil Surgeon of Dera Ismail
Khan states that in this district 28,394 deaths were registered from 1st April
1897 to 31st March 1898 against only 13,063 in the previous year. Out of the
28,394 deaths no less than 7,619 were among infants under one year and 9,964
among children between 1 and 5.
Cause of decrease in
vaccination operations in
1896-97.
11. The decrease in the vaccinations in the preceding year referred to in
Government of India letter No. 145, dated 21st January
1898, was after inquiry found to be due, to some extent,
to failure on the part of the vaccination staff to carry out
the system introduced in 1896 by abolishing the old plan of men working by
themselves in pairs in isolated parts of their district and substituting for it that