2
RESOLUTION ON THE NOTES ON THE STATISTICS OF VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEAR 1896-97.
Superintendent) could be made available for both town and district and another
vaccinator could be entertained. A competent man should be able to deal with
the operations in the town during the occasional respites from his tours in the
district which must occur. The Lieutenant-Governor desires the Deputy Com-
missioner and Civil Surgeon to consult the Municipal Committee and report at
an early date. The proportion of success in primary cases was unduly low in
Hanthawaddy, where the mortality from small-pox was the highest in the prov-
ince. It should be explained whether this was due to the inferior quality of
the lymph. A large number of the small-pox cases in the Hanthawaddy district
are doubtless traceable to Rangoon Town, and the enforcement of stricter measures
in the city will lead to an improvement in the surrounding district. The death-
rate from small-pox in .Henzada was again very high. Nine vaccinators were
employed in this district, and the number of persons operated on by each vacci-
nator (2,802), though slightly above the provincial average, is not as high as it
should be in a district which is densely populated and in which communications
are fairly good. The percentage of cases verified by the Civil Surgeon was
inadequate. The district cess fund can afford to devote a larger portion of its
funds to this important object and, if the establishment is insufficient, proposals
should be made for increasing it. Vaccination is also backward in Myaungmya.
The number of operations (6,461) by a staff of five vaccinators and the percentage
of successful cases are both unduly small. There was a general improvement both
in the number and the efficacy of dispensary vaccinations, but the low average
of success in Hanthawaddy, Myaungmya, and Thayetmyo should be explained.
In Pegu and Mergui the inspection work of the Civil Surgeons was satisfactory, but
in most cases too little attention seems to have been paid to the supervision of the
work of vaccinators. In Tavoy and Tharrawaddy particularly the neglect of this
duty was without excuse and throws suspicion upon the high percentage of suc-
cessful primary vaccinations returned for the latter district. It is impossible to
over-estimate the importance of a close supervision of vaccination by Civil Sur-
geons, and the Lieutenant-Governor trusts there will be no further occasion to
draw attention to this omission.
The average cost of each successful case was Annas 2-11. The average cost
at Akyab was too high and will be reduced in proportion as the efficiency of the
vaccinators is increased.
Upper Burma.
3. In Upper Burma there was an increase in the number of vaccinations of
10,761 as compared with the previous year. Of the
total number of operations performed 123,520 were
primary vaccinations, among which the percentage of success was 93.34, the
corresponding figures for 1895-96 being 113,778 and 92.67 respectively. Of the
2,944 re-vaccinations 1,903 were successful, being an increase of 1,019 cases and
620 successes over the returns for the previous year. The proportion of success,
however, in secondary operations fell from 66.65 to 64.64.
The increase in the number of operations in Pakokku district was very marked ;
but, though the percentage of successful cases was only 93.11, there do not appear
to have been any re-vaccinations. This should be explained. In Pakôkku,
Meiktila, and Shwebo each vaccinator is reported to have performed over 4,000
operations, a satisfactory outturn of work, if properly supervised and checked. The