8
TRIENNIAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEARS 1911-12 TO 1913-14.
an increase in Europe stores, and in the salaries of the staff. One additional
menial servant, a peon, was sanctioned during the year. There was a saving of
Rs. 823 on cost of feeding calves, and in the purchase of calves.
The building of a new laboratory and the provision of a small ice-making
and refrigerating plant received sanction during the year. The latter has been
already installed and the former will, it is hoped, be completed during the current
year. Enlargement of the calf stables, and the conversion of the old laboratory
building into a lecture-room for apprentice vaccinators has also been arranged for.
Work done at the depôt during 1913-14.—The number of calves vaccinated
during the year was 361, against 477 in 1912-13. There was less demand for
lymph owing to the relative absence of small-pox from the Province as compared
with the previous year. The number of doses of glycerinated vaccine lymph
issued was 755,114 against 757,518 in 1912-13, and 693,913 in 1911-12. The
actual number of doses of vaccine prepared, 806,660, constituted a record for
the depôt, although, owing to a less demand, the issue to vaccinators was slightly
less than in the previous year.
19. Work of the Training School.—Thirty-six apprentice vaccinators were
trained during the year as compared with 32 in 1912-13. Of this number 35
eventually obtained qualifying certificates.
I have pleasure in acknowledging the valuable results obtained by Major
Walker and his Assistant Rao Sahib Govinda Pillay during the year and to
express my thanks to them and to all members of the depôt staff for the good work
performed, including Captain Farebrother, R.A.M.C., who officiated for Major
Walker during June, and Sub-Assistant Surgeon Ramachandram, who relieved
Mr. Govinda Pillay when the latter proceeded on leave in January 1914.
20. General Remarks.—In conclusion, I desire to thank the various officers
who have assisted me from time to time during the past year in inspecting and
verifying vaccination work in the districts. Major G. H. Stewart, I.M.S., who
officiated as Deputy Sanitary Commissioner in the earlier months of the year, did
some useful work in the Pegu District, where he found rural vaccination much
neglected, and the vaccination staff without any effective supervision. Captain
W. F. Brayne, who officiated as my Deputy from July 1913, carried on the
investigation into the condition of vaccination in Insein, Pegu, and Tharrawaddy
Districts which he had already been engaged upon earlier in the year. He
obtained results of great importance as showing that in many parts of these
districts rural vaccination is in a very backward condition, and that large areas are
rarely visited by a vaccinator, and that the vaccinators' returns are in many cases
quite unreliable. The groups of villages selected for examination in Insein District
show a vaccination protection-rate in children under 15 of under 23 per cent., and,
if those having single scars are eliminated from the "protected " class, the vacci-
nation protection-rate is barely 16 per cent. Here again the lack of supervision
in the past by a superior officer has been the main cause of the present state of
vaccination in the district.
Captain S. C. Chuckerbutty, I.M.S., in the intervals of plague duty, per-
formed some useful investigations of a similar nature in the Irrawaddy Division,
arriving at practically identical results.
Major H. A. Williams, I.M.S., Civil Surgeon, Mandalay, who, in spite of the
heavy work claiming his attention at headquarters has himself done a good deal
of useful verification work in rural areas of his district, speaks highly of the
excellent work performed by his District Sanitary and Epidemic Assistant, Civil
Sub-Assistant Surgeon Dhulip Singh, who did much during the last two years to
further the interests and popularity of vaccination in the district.
In many districts, where formerly little attention was paid to vaccination by
the Lay Authorities, the Deputy Commissioner and his subordinate officers have
during the last three years given much assistance towards furthering the populari-
zation of this operation, and better results have invariably followed their action.
C. E. WILLIAMS, M.D., D.P.H., D.T.M.,
LIEUT.-COL., I.M.S.,
Superintendent-General of Vaccination, Burma.
RANGOON, 26th May 1914.