2 RESOLUTION ON THE TRIENNIAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEARS 1914-15 TO 1916-17.
States was better than in the Northern Shan States. The Sanitary Commissioner
however doubts the value of the returns, and a reorganization of the establish-
ment is being gradually carried out. On the whole the progress of vaccination
in the province in the triennium has been well maintained.
2. The Sanitary Commissioner shows in his report that small-pox is brought
into Burma chiefly by sea, and that epidemics in Indian provinces on the Bay of
Bengal are generally followed by an outbreak in Burma. While Rangoon is
never free of small-pox, the disease is kept in check there by the efficiency of the
vaccination department. But vaccination of the residents of Rangoon alone could
not prevent the spread of the disease to rural areas where the population is not
so well protected as in Rangoon. The necessary power to deal with immigrants
of the labouring classes was given by the Vaccination Law Amendment Act of
1909, and since 1915 the prevalence of the disease in India coupled with the
anticipation of a severe outbreak in 1917 has induced the Local Government
to enforce the Act. more rigorously. Representations have recently been
received that the Act operates harshly and a Committee is being appointed to
enquire into its working and to make recommendations as to the necessity
of continuing the precautions now adopted.
3. The expenditure of the department is steadily increasing. In 1913-14
the expenditure was Rs. 2,04,873, and in the following years it rose gradually by
sums of approximately Rs. 1,400, Rs. 14,200 and Rs. 7,200. The greater part
of the increase was spent on establishment, which cost about Rs. 15,000 more in
1916-17 than in the first year of the triennium. There was a considerable drop
in the expenditure on contingencies in 1914-15, but this item again rose high in
the following two years. The average cost of each successful case was 8 annas
and 7 pies as against 7 annas 6 pies in the previous triennium. The Vaccine
Depôt at Meiktila continued to do good work and in 1915-16 recorded the highest
percentage yet obtained of successful results in primary operations. The number
of doses issued fell slightly in the triennium from 2,206,545 to 2,179,724. The
Depôt accounted for a good part of the increased expenditure of the Department
in spite of the fact that economy was exercised in every branch of expenditure.
It is unsatisfactory that certain vaccination establishments are so wasteful
of the lymph. The figures were particularly bad in the Mandalay Municipality
and Thatôn District where the wastage exceeded 50 per cent. The Local
Government hopes that the Sanitary Commissioner will take vigorous action
where such cases are discovered.
4. The highest figures both for primary vaccinations and for re-vaccinations
were recorded in the last year of the triennium. The former figure was lower
than the corresponding figure for 1913-14, but re-vaccinations in 1916-17 were
more numerous than in any other year since 1911-12. It may be noted that in
1916-17 the ratio per 10,000 of population of successful vaccinations in Lower
Burma was the highest since 1901-02. The percentage of inspection done
by Civil Surgeons was slightly lower than in the previous triennium but was higher
than the minimum of 10 per cent. considered sufficient by the Sanitary Com-
missioner. On the other hand, there is a tendency to confine the inspection to
the same areas every year, and the percentage of inspection varies enormously