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Dispensary Vaccination.
The Government Dispensaries are situated at the three British stations at Wadwán,
Mánikwádá, and Songarh. The British stations are
small camps. Wadwán, since the railway is being-
built, is increasing in importance.
Municipal Vaccinators.
Of late a few Municipalities have been established in some of the larger towns of this
province. The experiment is too recent to allow us to
suggest that vaccinators be entertained by them. I
believe that hereafter, there will be no difficulty in getting municipal vaccinators sanctioned
by some of the larger Municipalities—this will set free a certain amount of the Vaccination
Fund, and allow the Superintendent to meet occasional, and not estimated, expenses.
Small-pox.
I have not seen a case of small-pox myself, with the exception of a lady at Rájkot, who
suffered from a very wild attack of the modified form
of the disease; she had good marks of primary vaccination
on both arms. Both the Deputy Superintendents reported to me the presence of small-pox in
several provinces of Káthiáwád in the spring of the present year. Mr. Ranchoddás Mangaldás
saw some cases at Dráphá, and he found it to prevail greatly in the villages of that táluká. A
second vaccinator was directed to proceed to the infected districts and assist in stamping out
the disease ; the result was entirely satisfactory. Mr. Kánojí Jayarám, on the 17th February
last, reported to me that small-pox prevailed since two months in the village of Amibá, but
that the occurrence had not been reported to him by the vaccinator. Up to that date forty¬
two children had been attacked ; of these twenty-one had been vaccinated, twelve deaths had
taken place (4 vaccinated, 8 unvaccinated), thirty were still sick in bed. Mr. Kánojí
Jayarám visited them all and examined their arms ; he found that the cicatrices were not
good; none of them were pitted. On the 27th February Mr. Kánojí Jayarám again informed
me that the vaccinator having reported himself sick, he had, with the assistance of the Kundlá
Kárkún, vaccinated in the villages where small-pox prevailed. In another village, Sehor, the
people at first would not allow him to vaccinate, and since six years no vaccination had been
performed there. The reason the inhabitants gave for their refusal was, that six years ago a
vaccinator vaccinated forty children in that village, and all were shortly afterwards attacked
with small-pox (probably they had been inoculated), and many other persons contracted the
disease; about a hundred persons died of small-pox, among them the vaccinator himself.
Mr. Kánojí Jayarám succeeded in overcoming the opposition of the inhabitants ; he proved
to them the great advantages of good vaccination, and was allowed to vaccinate some
children, and he obtained a promise that they would allow, in future, a vaccinator to operate
in their village.
A circular was addressed to all the vaccinators, directing them to proceed at once to any
locality in their districts where small-pox was reported to be prevalent, and they were ordered
to inform at once the Deputy Superintendents of their division of the extent and intensity
of the epidemic out-break. The Political Agent in Káthiáwád and the Joint Administrator
of Bháwanagar were requested by me to issue instructions to the village authorities to
report to them at once the appearance of small-pox in their villages : the intelligence to be
communicated to this office with as little delay as possible.
Conduct of the Vaccinators.
I can here but follow the example of my predecessors and report unfavorably. With
one or two exceptions a more untrustworthy and indolent
set of men it would be difficult to find. Three of the
worst have been dismissed, one of them in one month alone had inserted nearly a hundred
false names in his monthly return, the total of which was only one hundred and four.
Another, whose register was tested by calling out the names of the children of a dozen
villages, was found to have constantly falsified his return ; and a third not only falsified his