ANNUAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN THE
MADRAS PRESIDENCY FOR THE
YEAR 1927-28.
The administration of vaccination in rural areas has been for a number of
years vested in Taluk and Union Boards, but, in the interests of efficiency and
uniformity of procedure, an amendment to the Local Boards Act has been
suggested by the Public Health Department which, if accepted, will place
vaccination in the hands of District. Boards. This proposal is unanimously
supported by every officer in the Department.
2. The glycerine lymph in use has continued to give most satisfactory
results, the percentage success-rate during the year under report being the
highest ever recorded.
3. During the hot. weather, when routine vaccination is suspended for a
period of four months, the health staffs carried out the usual scrutiny of vital
statistics' and vaccination registers, and detection of unregistered births, deaths
and unprotected cases. Reports go to show that grave defects still exist in many
of the vital statistics' and vaccination records. In Coimbatore District as many
as 37,461 unregistered unprotected cases were detected during the year; in
Tanjore the number totalled 32,666; in Vizagapatam 20,137 ; in North Arcot
16,104; in Malabar 15,657, and in Kurnool 11,882. In view of these figures, it
is requested that Government will once more impress upon all revenue authorities
and Presidents of Union Boards the vital need for the correct maintenance of
birth and vaccination registers.
4. " Many Union Boards still fail to maintain proper vaccination registers,
still refrain from rendering necessary assistance to the vaccination staffs and still
fight shy of sanctioning the prosecution of defaulters." This sentence appeared
in last year's report, and still unfortunately requires no amendment. Numerous
specific instances can be quoted without fear of contradiction. Out of the 22
defaulting unions in the Tinnevelly District which were mentioned in last year's
report, only ten have made any attempt to improve vaccination in spite of
repeated instructions from the President of the District Board. Two of the
Boards, viz., Puliangudi and Udangudi, even now do not maintain any register
at all, and in others the registers are kept in most unsatisfactory fashion. In
South Arcot District, no less than ten Union Boards out of 18 are reported to
have maintained their " unprotected cases" registers in a very perfunctory
manner, whilst the registers in Panruti, Nellikuppam and Porto Novo Unions
are anything but satisfactory. In Guntūr District, all unprotected registers have
been now transferred from the union authorities to village officers, as, in the hands
of the former, no chance of improvement was deemed possible. Vaccination is
reported to be very backward in the unions of Tiruturaipūndi, Muttupet,
Vēdāranniyam, and Tiruvādi in Tanjore District. The Presidents of the Union
Boards of Avanigadda, Guntasala and Gudivāda have failed to co-operate with
the health staff, and the unprotected register of Avanigadda Union is neither
correct nor up to date. As a consequence, the state of vaccination in these areas
is deplorably bad, and it seems hopeless to expect any great improvement under
present arrangements.
5. In municipal towns employing Health Officers, the work of the vaccinat
ors has been satisfactorily supervised. During the year under report, eight
additional municipal Health Officers were entertained, and in G.Os. Nos. 765, P.H.,
and 770, P.H., dated 31st March 1928, five more municipal appointments have been
sanctioned. In municipalities without Health Officers, the District Health Officers
concerned have been ordered to supervise vaccination and registration, but this
is a somewhat difficult task, and effective supervision will only be possible when
every municipal town has its own Health Officer.