Extract from the Proceedings of the Resident at Hyderabad, No. 2232, dated
Hyderabad Residency, the 8th September 1884.
Read—
The Annual Report on Vaccination in the Hyderabad Assigned Districts for the year 1883-84.
RESOLUTION.
THE establishment employed for vaccination in Berar underwent re-organi-
zation during the year with a view to the employment of the vaccinators all the
year round and to their being thus permanently settled within their circles of
operations, instead of working for six months and going to their homes for the
rest of the year as hitherto.
Besides keeping the vaccinators more steadily at this work, the change aimed
at a further object in making the members of the vaccination establishment avail-
able to aid in sanitary work generally, under the orders of the District Officer or
the Civil Surgeon, and more especially during the months of May and June it is
intended to utilize their services in furthering village sanitation. In order to
carry out this change without incurring greater cost the numerical strength of
the department was decreased, and it is hoped that the smaller number of
vaccinators working for four more months in the year will perform as much work
as before.
2. It is not fair to judge the success of this measure by the outturn of the
year's work, because the reduced establishment has been only at work since 1st
November 1883 to the 31st March 1884, that is to say during those months in
the year when the larger establishment used to work, and it is but natural to find
a smaller outturn, but there were other and more serious causes to account for
the decrease in numbers vaccinated. The year was a peculiarly unhealthy one,
and the mortality among children was especially great. Everywhere it is said
there were complaints that children could not be got to be vaccinated. The
result has been a total decrease of 24,033 cases on the return of the last year,
and the average number of operations done by each vaccinator has also fallen.
This is not ascribed by the Sanitary Commissioner to bad work, but to the causes
above stated, and his view is supported by the circumstance of the greater
measure of success that has attended their operations in a higher percentage of
successful cases, which has this year risen from 91.6 to 92.69 per cent.
3. The details of the change of system are given in para. 2 of the Sanitary
Commissioner's Report, and would seem, a priori, to recommend themselves as
judicious reforms. It is, however, certain they have not as yet had the result
expected from them. Much, however, may be hoped from the future from the per-
sonal influence which ought to be acquired by the permanent residence of each
vaccinator within his own circle. But the growth of such influence must be a
matter of time. Moreover the reduction in the number of operators, though
introduced tentatively with the measure, does not form any necessary portion of
it. And if it be true that this limitation is not compensated for by the increase of
the months during which the employes are at work, it will undoubtedly be advis-
able to incur the extra cost of restoring the old number. The Resident is not,
however, satisfied that this will ultimately prove to be the case. It is impossible
to judge from the experience of half a year only.
4. The number of operations performed, and the rate of success obtained
by individual vaccinators, vary greatly, viz., from 3,005 and 99.4 to 997 and 80.8
respectively. This is a wide range, and shows how well in some instances
vaccinators have done their work and what room there is for improvement in the
work of others.
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