2
Primary vaccinations per-
formed by district staff.
5. There was a decrease of about 11,000 in the number of primary
operations performed by the district staff. With the
exception of the Peshawar District, which shows an
increase of 1,084 over last year's figures, all the settled
districts of the Province inclusive of the Mardan Sub-Division contributed
towards this decrease, the most marked falling off being noticeable in
the Dera Ismail Khan, Hazara and Kohat Districts in the order named. The
falling off in the Dera Ismail Khan District is ascribed to the following
causes :—(a) prevalence of a virulent type of malarial fevers in every part of
the district during the winter months, (b) heavy mortality among infants and
(c) a decrease in the number of births in the district. In Hazara the decrease
is stated to be due to (a) the vaccinators having suffered a good deal from
malarial fever and one being new to the district, (b) malarial fever which left
the majority of children in too weak a condition to be fit for vaccination and
(c) excessive rain during the months of January and February last. The
decrease in the Kohat District is attributed (a) to the severe epidemic of fever
at the end of the year 1906, (b) want of exertions on the part of the vaccina-
tion staff and (c) lack of continuity in the office of Civil Surgeon who, holding
a collateral charge, is not in a position to exercise sufficient supervision over
the staff. The first reason assigned appears to be the main cause for fewer
vaccinations done in the district and this is borne out by the fact that the
Deputy Commissioner received a petition from a village praying that the
people might be allowed to follow the example of neighbouring villages and
be spared the visits of vaccinators owing to the majority of mothers and
children in those parts being prostated by fever.
Re-vaccinations perform-
ed by district staff.
6. The work of re-vaccinations in the settled districts has, however,
been better, the total number of operations being 12,908
as against 11,929 or an increase of 979 which was con-
tributed by the Peshawar and Hazara Districts and the
Mardan Sub-Division.
Vaccinations in Political
Agencies.
Appendix to statement
No. I.
7. As regards the vaccination work in Political Agencies, that done in
the Kurram Valley was satisfactory, 2,225 primary
operations and 55 re-vaccinations having been performed
in that agency against 1,591 and 204, respectively, in the
preceding year. In the Tochi Valley there was a slight
falling off in primary operations. No vaccination work during the year was
done in the Chitral Sub-Agency nor in the Swat Valley. The work done in
the Shirani Country, where a whole time vaccinator has been appointed for
the winter months, has for the first time been excluded from the district total
of statement No. I. Here too there was a falling off both in primary opera-
tions and re-vaccinations.
Owing to the difficulty of overcoming the prejudices of the people in
the Wano Agency, no attempt has been made to start vaccination work
among the rural population of that agency in which vaccinations are only
performed at hospitals either by the Civil Surgeon or the Hospital Assistants
in charge, In regard to the Chitral Sub-Agency and Swat Valley, there are
hopes of the work being started on a proper footing in the near future.
Vaccinations in canton-
ments.
Appendix to statement
No. I.
8. Each of the cantonments of Peshawar and Nowshera entertain a
vaccinator. In the former the Vaccination Act has
continued in force while it was extended to the latter with
effect from the 1st January 1907. At Peshawar there
was a marked falling off in primary operations, but on the
other hand a satisfactory increase in re-vaccinations, At Nowshera there was
an improvement in both.
At the other cantonments, viz., Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Kohat and
Mardan, in which vaccine operations are performed by the district staff, the
work on the whole was satisfactory.