2
NOTES ON THE STATISTICS OF VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEAR 1897-98
4. The following districts are chiefly responsible for the increased work :—
Name.
Sandoway ...
Henzada ...
Shwebo ...
Tharrawaddy ...
Mandalay ... ...
Thôngwa ... ...
Amherst ... ...
Increase.
3,532
2,995
2,504
1,733
1,677
1,605
1,530
Name.
Thayetmyo
...
...
Myingyan ... ...
Tavoy ... ...
Toungoo ... ...
Hanthawaddy ... ...
Northern Shan States
Increase.
1,123
1,050
1,012
869
739
634
5. The total number of infants and children under six years of age vacci-
nated during the year was 109,977 and 189,457 respectively as against 103,483
and 175,139 in 1896-97, showing an increase of 6,494 cases in the former and of
14,318 in the latter. Infant vaccination, though showing improvement, falls far
short of the estimated births.
6. The percentages of success in primary operations and re-vaccinations
were 94.56 and 61.38 respectively as contrasted with 92.43 and 59.50 in the pre-
ceding year. This is satisfactory and is no doubt due to improvement in the pre-
paration of bovine lymph paste at the Rangoon and Taunggyi depôts.
7. The average number of vaccinators employed throughout the season in-
creased by six men, whilst the average number of persons operated on by each vac-
cinator decreased by 51. The average was very high in Sandoway (7,071),
Amherst (4,940), Hanthawaddy (4,362), and Shwebo (4,033). The exception-
ally high figure returned by Sandoway would seem to be incredible. In other
districts the average ranged from 3,529 in Upper Chindwin, 3,342 in Pakôkku,
3,307 in Thatôn, and 3,048 in Sagaing, to 1,468 in Akyab, 1,373 in Northern
Shan States, 1,367 in Arakan Hill Tracts, 1,333 in Kyaukpyu, 1,331 in Bhamo,
and 754 in Myitkyina.
8. The mean ratios of persons protected per 1,000 of population, which was
46.09 in 1896-97, rose to 48.08 in the year of report. The ratios ranged from
250.43 in Sandoway, 114.80 in Tavoy, and 84.36 in Arakan Hill Tracts, to 15.48
in Meiktila, 13.04 in Katha, 12.56 in Myitkyina, and 10.81 in the Shan States ;
whilst the ratios of those successfully vaccinated exceeded the mean of the previous
five years in all but the following districts:—
Rangoon ... ... ... ... ...
Upper Chindwin ... ... ... ... ...
Katha ... ... ... ... ... ...
Minbu ... ... ... ... ...
Akyab ... ... ... ... ... ...
Myitkyina
...
...
...
...
...
Decrease.
61.53
4.00
2.87
1.09
.84
.83
9. The annexed diagrams show the proportion of the population protected
during the seven years ending March 1898 and the death-rate from smallpox
for the calendar year 1897, whereas the ratio per 10,000 of successfully vacci-
nated and the death-rate from smallpox by quinquennial periods since 1882 are
set forth in the subjoined table. As remarked last year it is not safe to draw
inferences from these data, which are open to numerous fallacies.
Official year.
1882-83 ...
1883-84 ...
1884-85 ...
1885-86 ...
1886-87 ...
1887-88 ...
1888-89 ...
1889-90...
1890-91 ...
1891-92 ...
1892-93 ...
1893-94 ...
1894-95...
1895-96 ...
1896-97 ...
Ratio per 10,000
of successfully
vaccinated.
125.00
167.00
199.50
134.60
146.90
167.00
197.90
266.70
243.60
214.20
257.90
303.50
353.80
448.90
554.40
Quinquennial
mean.
154.60
217.88
383.70
Calendar year.
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
Ratio per 10,000
of mortality
from smallpox.
2.10
1.90
16.70
5.80
.30
.60
1.60
7.70
10.10
2.90
3.20
6.80
3.80
3.40
3.70
Quinquennial
mean.
5.36
4.58
4.18