Proceedings of the Hon'ble the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab in the Home (Medical and Sanitary)
Department, No. 1103 S., dated 30th July 1902.
READ—
The Report on Vaccination in the Punjab for the year 1901-02 by Lieutenant-Colonel
C. J. BAMBER, I.M.S., Sanitary Commissioner, Punjab.
REMARKS.—This Report, which was due in the office of the Civil
Secretariat of the Punjab Government on the 1st July, was received on the 2nd
idem. It is not only for the year 1901-02, but covers also the triennial period
1899-1900, 1900-01 and 1901-02. The figures exclude, with effect from the
10th of November 1901, the vaccination work carried out in the districts
transferred from the Punjab to the North-West Frontier Province. The Report
has been prepared in accordance with the instructions contained in paragraph 13
of the letter from the Government of India in the Home Department, No. 2743,
dated the 26th of March 1901.
2. The prospects of the subordinate staff of the Vaccination Department
have been improved by the introduction, with effect from the 1st of September
1901, of a scheme which classified the Native Supervisors into three grades on
Rs. 25, Rs. 35 and Rs. 55 per mensem respectively and the Vaccinators into four
grades on Rs.10, Rs. 12, Rs. 15 and Rs. 20 per mensem respectively. Previously
the highest pay to which a Supervisor could attain was Rs. 40 per mensem and a
Vaccinator Rs. 15 per mensem only. At the end of the year 1901-02 and after
the transfer of staff to the new Province the Subordinate Vaccination Establish-
ment consisted of 3 Divisional Inspectors, 27 Native Supervisors, and 258
Vaccinators.
3. The total number of operations performed in 1901-02 was 668, 144, of
which 511,121, or 76.5 per cent., were primary vaccinations and the balance re-vac-
cinations. Including the operations performed by the Dispensary Staff, 480,033
primary vaccinations and 91,805 re-vaccinations were successful, giving per-
centages of success amounting to 04 and 58 respectively. The percentage of
success in primary operations was well maintained in the District Staff, being
95.41 in 1901-02 against 94.44 in the previous year. In the other staffs there
was a falling off. In the matter of re-vaccinations there was improvement in the
special staff, viz., 51.5 of success against 48.61 in the preceding year. In the
other staffs there was, however, a falling-off, notably in the Dispensary Staff,
which appears to have been due to defective work in the Hoshiárpur Dispensary.
4. With the transfer of staff to the new Frontier Province the total cost
of the operations decreased, but on account of the improvements made in the pay
of the staff and of a decline in the number of operations performed the average
cost of each successful operation rose from two annas four pies in 1900-01 to
two annas seven pies in the year under report.
5 The number of operations performed was less in 1901-02 than in any
year since 1896-97. Excluding the year 1899-1900, in which the largest number
of operations during the last six years was performed, there has since 1896-97
been a continuous decline in vaccination, and the number of operations performed
in 1901-02 amounted to about 80 per cent. only of the number performed in
1896-97. The greater part of the decrease—amounting to 2/3rds of the total
decrease—occurred in re-vaccinations.
During 1901-02, however, a decrease
was perceptible in a more or less degree
in the number of primary operations per-
formed by all the four vaccination staffs
as shown on the margin. As regards
re-vaccinations, in 1901-02 there was a
small increase in the work done by the
Special and Cantonment Staffs.
Staff.
District
Special...
Cantonment
Dispensary
Falling off in total number
of primary operations as
compared with 1900-01.
... ... 47,759
... ... 11,867
...
...
905
...
...
82
60,613