ANNUAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN THE MADRAS
PRESIDENCY FOR THE YEAR 1924-25.
1. Except in the Nilgiris, where the District Board exercises control, the
administration of vaccination in rural areas continues to be vested in Taluk
Boards. District Health Officers are unanimously of opinion that, in the interests
of efficiency and discipline, this branch of Public Health administration should be
transferred to the District Boards. This subject has been before Government for
a considerable time and it is hoped that favourable orders will be issued at an
early date.
2. Glycerinated lymph was used throughout the Presidency during the year
under report. Revised instructions in its use were embodied in G.O. No. 1125-
P.H., dated 6th August 1924, which was issued to all officers of the department
for guidance.
3. An important innovation during the year was the substitution of the old
scarifying lancets by rotary lancets. Although these are comparatively expen
sive, both as regards their initial cost and their maintenance, the higher
percentage of success obtained and the greater uniformity in the results justify
the increased expenditure.
4. During the 3—4 hottest months, routine vaccination was again suspended
throughout the Presidency except in the Nilgiri district and in Kodaikānal
municipality. This period of suspension was utilized for the detection of
unregistered births and unprotected children. The necessity for intensive
enquiries in this direction may be recognized from the fact that, in one district
alone, viz., Tanjore, nearly 19,000 unprotected children were detected during the
year, an achievement which is certainly creditable to the District Health staff,
but which is at the same time an index of the extreme indifference of a large
number of village headmen to registration work. Notwithstanding definite
instructions in circulars issued regularly in anticipation of the off-season, many
local bodies are still in the habit of granting leave to vaccinators during the
period without employing substitutes. In other cases the services of the vaccina
tion staff are either dispensed with altogether or are utilized for clerical and other
non-vaccination purposes. It is obvious that in the absence of exhaustive lists of
unprotected children, many will escape vaccination. The annual incidence of
small-pox amongst unprotected children, and the large numbers of primary
vaccination operations done on children above one year of age,—even in munici
palities where vaccination is compulsory when the child attains the age of six
months,—amply demonstrate the necessity for improvement in the preparation
of unprotected registers. It is hardly necessary to point out that the off-season
is the most opportune period for bringing these registers up-to-date, the vaccina
tors having no other work to perform, except when small-pox is prevalent. Local
Bodies must realize the importance of this part of a vaccinator's duties if the
population in their respective jurisdictions is to be properly protected.
5. Captain Ubhaya held the office of the Assistant Director of Public Health
(Vaccination) until the 8th July 1924, when he proceeded on furlough and study
leave. Dr. R. Adiseshan, who returned from Europe after taking the Diploma in
Hygiene of Cambridge University, was in charge during the rest of the year.
The subjoined statement shows the inspections carried out during the year
by these officers.