25
richand Bháskarjí, 2nd grade Local Fund vaccinator of Dhandúká, retired from service from
1st January 1873 on account of continued ill health. Arrangements for filling up his place
are under consideration.
Conduct of Vaccinators, &c.
9. The conduct of the vaccinators, as regards their behaviour with the people of
their tálukás, has been very good ; not a single complaint
of any kind has come to my knowledge. But as regards their
zeal in keeping up work, I had to find fault with several of the Local Funds' and Native
States' men, and had to inflict fines. Of these two men still continue extremely indifferent
to work, viz., Govindráo Bálájí and Jivarám Chaturbhuj, both of Mahí Kánthá. Though
their pay has been reduced from Rs. 20 to Rs. 14 since December 1871, they have not improved
at all in work, and I have already, whilst on inspection in their tálukás, given them notice
of dismissal in case they did not improve.
Small-pox.
10. A somewhat wide-spread epidemic of small-pox broke out in the northern part of
this Circle in the last quarter (January, February, and March)
of the year under report. Though I was apprised of the
breaking out of the disease about the middle of January, yet, from inquiries subsequently
made, I have reason to believe that it first made its appearance about the middle of December
1872. It broke out here and there in nearly all tálukás of Khedá Zilhá, but with consider-
able force in the Kasbá towns of Kapatbanj, Nariád, Dákor, Mahudhá and Borsad. In Ah-
madábád Zilhá it occurred in three outlying villages (Osmánábád, Khoriád and Sábáspur)
of Daskroí Táluká and in one or two villages of Dhandúká, Gogo and Prántej Tálukás only,
as well as in the city of Ahmadábád. From Mahí Kánthá reports of the appearance of the
disease were received from Idar, Pethápur and Mágodí by the end of March. Súrat and
Broach Zilhás have remained free from the disease, though in the cities of Súrat and Broach
the occurrence of a few cases has been reported.
11. The outbreak of the disease was sudden, and it made its first appearance with consi-
derable virulence in Nariád and Kapatbanj towns. When I received a report of this, I was
very far off in Disa, and unable to reach the infected locality in time to be of any use ; but
arrangements were made to check the prevalence of the disease, and all the active work of
carrying out my instructions fell upon the Assistant Superintendent of the Zilhá, Mr. Par-
bhádás Hírjí, who in conjunction with the hospital assistant and the táluká vaccinator
checked the disease in a very short time. He carried out my general instructions in other
places besides Kapatbanj, and succeeded in checking the disease in the infected localities as
they were brought to his notice. Under my instructions, also, he made nominal returns of
small-pox cases that occurred in the places he visited, showing—1st and 2nd, the age and
caste of the affected persons; 3rd, the result of the cases whether ending in recovery or death;
and, 4th, whether they were previously vaccinated or not. These returns must have been a
work of no little labour to him. It gives me great pleasure to state here that, during this
critical period, Mr. Parbhúdás worked with commendable zeal and industry ; and though
other Assistant Superintendents would, I doubt not, have done the same, I would beg to
bring Mr. Purbhudas's work of these three months to your notice that he may receive com-
mendable mention.
12. As stated above, I was not able to reach the infected localities at the time the
epidemic broke out, but by the end of March I arrived at Kapatbanj to make special in-
quiries regarding the small-pox that prevailed there, and subsequently I visited the other places
where it had prevailed. In addition to the nominal returns of small-pox cases received from
the Assistant Superintendent, I called for authentic death returns of small-pox from the
several Mámlatdárs of Khedá, Zilhá; and my mornings are now chiefly devoted to verifying
or correcting these returns by a personal visit to such of the villages as are reported to have
specially suffered from it. I have two principal objects in view in undertaking these in-
4 VAC