TRIENNIAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEARS 1905-06 TO 1907-08.
3
for small-pox to recur in severe epidemics every fifth or sixth year is well shown
in this table.
8. Inoculation and attitude of the people towards Vaccination.—Inoculation
appears to be unknown to, and unpractised among, the Shans of Loimwe
(Kēngtūng State), although in vogue among their Chinese and Burmese neigh
bours.
The Burmese population as a whole maintains a passive attitude towards
vaccination, while Karens accept it readily. In Myaungmya three-quarters of the
operations performed are on Karens. In the districts of Tharrawaddy, Pakôkku
and Amherst the population is said to be antagonistic to the operation. In the
Northern Shan States there is active opposition and progress is likely to be very
slow. The officials of the Native States, however, do their best to assist the vacci-
nators.
In 1907-08 inoculation is referred to as being the cause of mortality from
small-pox in the Lower Chindwin District, where 93 cases of small-pox occurred
with four deaths due to this operation, and in Upper Chindwin District where 22
deaths followed on 141 operations.
In Yamèthin small-pox was propagated by inoculation. In the Kawa
Township of Pegu District an inoculator holding a vaccinator's certificate from
the Health Officer, Rangoon Municipality, openly practised inoculation, showing
the certificate to the villagers as his authority to inoculate. He also produced a
copy of an order passed by the Chief Court that inoculation was not illegal.
It is the general experience of District Civil Surgeons that both inoculation
and vaccination are most sought after during small-pox epidemics. In conse-
quence, in a year when there is no epidemic there is a falling off in the amount of
vaccination performed.
Inoculation is still practised freely in non-Municipal areas. In the absence
of facilities for obtaining the services of vaccinators, and also by reason of their
distrust in the efficacy of vaccination, as a protection against small-pox, the rural
populations continue to resort to inoculation whenever they are threatened by an
epidemic of small-pox. This habit is illustrated by the circumstances attending
the outbreak of small-pox in Pakókku District in the earlier months of 1907,
adverted to in my Sanitary Report for that year.
A Bill has been introduced into the Provincial Legislative Council for extend-
ing the prohibition against inoculation now in force in Municipalities only, into
notified rural areas, and there is no reason to doubt that this measure, combined
with an improved organization for meeting the demand which will necessarily
arise for vaccination, will in time put an end to this dangerous practice.
Statement I.
9. Results by districts.—The heavy decline in operations performed in Thar-
rawaddy District, which fell from 17,252 in 1905-06 to 8,536 in 1907-08, is said by
the Civil Surgeon to be due to the difficulty experienced by the vaccinators in
getting subjects for operation. The following towns and villages were distinctly
hostile to vaccination,—Thônzè, Letpadan, Zigôn, Gyobingauk, Minhla and Tharra-
waddy. I am inclined to attribute the attitude of the people to inefficiency and
want of tact on the part of the vaccination staff.
In Akyab, the decrease of 2,520 operations in 1907-08 on the previous year's
record, is attributed to the prevalence of small-pox, which has conferred protection
on a large number of children. The Mohamedan population of the district is less
favourable to vaccination than the Buddhist.
In Henzada there has been a remarkable and continuous decrease in the
number of operations recorded during each of the three years under review, there
having been only 14,923 operations performed in 1907-08 against 40,936 in 1905-06.
The Civil Surgeon, Doctor McCarthy, reports that the records have been
in the past quite unreliable, that the results reported by vaccinators in the district
were not inspected or checked in any way, and that the number of operations per-
formed was grossly exaggerated. He finds the people of the district opposed to
vaccination, and that the Headmen of villages will give no assistance to the
vaccinators.
Even in Henzada Town repeated prosecution fails in inducing parents to sub-
mit their children to vaccination. Doctor McCarthy deserves credit for throwing