Proceedings of the Hon'ble the Lieutenant-Governer of the Punjab in the Home (Medical and Sanitary)
Department, No. 702 S., dated the 29th of July 1898.
READ—
The Sanitary Commissioner's Report on Vaccination in the Punjab for the year 1897-98.
Paragraphs 1 to 5 of the Report.
REMARKS.—During the last half of the year 1897-98 the Vaccination
Department was deprived of the services
of Surgeon-Captain James, Deputy Sani-
tary Commissioner, that officer having been deputed to special duty in the plague-
infected area in the Punjab (Nawashahr Tahsíl and part of the Phillour Tahsíl in
the Jullundur District and the Garhshankar Tahsíl in the Hoshiárpur District).
The only other change was the entertainment of two additional vaccinators.
There was a decrease of Rs. 3,671 in the cost of the Department, but the cost
per successful vaccination remained the same as in the previous year, viz., two
annas and two pies.
Paragraphs 6 to 15.
1896-97
...
1897-98 ...
Decrease
...
Primary.
6,73,078
6,31,774
41,304
Re vac-
cinations.
229,335
213,717
15,618
Total.
902,413
845,491
56,922
Staff.
District ... ...
Special ... ...
Cantonments
...
...
Dispensary ... ...
Total decrease ...
Decrease in number of
operations in the
year 1897-98 as
compared with the
year 1896-97.
8,213
3,009
2,736
1,660
15,618
2. In all 845, 491 vaccination operations were performed in the year 1897-98,
which gives a considerable falling-off on
the figures for the previous year as noted
on the margin. As regards primary opera-
tions, there was a large falling-off amount-
ing to no less than 43,369 operations in the
work of the District staff and of 2,496 in
that of the Dispensary staff: per contra there was an increase of 4,251 operations
in the work of the Special staff and of 310 in that of the Cantonment staff, so that
the gross decrease in primary operations amounted to 41,304. In the matter
of re-vaccinations there was a falling-off of work in all the staffs to the extent
noted on the margin. The decrease in
the case of the District staff would
have been larger but for the very large
number of re-vaccinations (104,428)
performed in the two districts of Kángra
and Hoshiárpur, where it is to be
hoped that re-vaccination is not being
unnecessarily resorted to. The general
decrease in vaccination operations cannot
be considered satisfactory, and His Honor hopes that efforts will be made to
show improvement in the current year, especially in those districts mentioned in
paragraph 8 of the Report where the failure was serious. It seems to His Honor,
though this is not mentioned in the Report, that the withdrawal of the Deputy
Sanitary Commissioner to plague work must in a great measure account for the
inefficacy of the lymph and the carelessness of the staff to which the Sanitary
Commissioner is understood to attribute in part this decrease. But the serious-
ness of these defects compels him to ask the Sanitary Commissioner for a more
detailed report on the subject showing in what districts the carelessness complained
of occurred and in what it consisted, and to what circumstances the failure of the
lymph is attributed, and how it affected the number of operations as opposed to
the percentage of success attained in them. It is observed that the figures show
on the whole an improvement in the percentage of results in primary vaccinations,
the figure in the case of the District staff having risen from 93.97 in 1896-97 to
95.16 in 1897-98, and in the case of Special staff from 86.93 to 88.73.
Paragraph 16.
3. The number of vaccinations inspected amounted to 79 per cent. as
against 74 per cent. in 1896-97. Considering the
difficulties that had to be contended with, the
Lieutenant-Governor considers this sufficiently satisfactory. His Honor is glad
to notice that good work was done in this respect by the Divisional Inspectors.
Paragraph 17.
4. The results attained by the new vaseline lymph in primary vaccina-
tions though improving, the percentage having
risen from 92.6 in 1896-97 to 94.3 in 1897-98, are
not so high as the percentage of success attained by animal lymph (99.3), or human
lypmh (98.2). In the case of re-vaccinations the vaseline lymph stood second
with a percentage of 75.6 in successful results.