6
TRIENNIAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEARS 1905-06 TO 1907-08.
Statement
II.
Year.
1902-03—1904-05 ...
1905-06—1907-08 ...
Government.
34.17
39.92
Municipalities.
17.96
15.81
Local Funds.
44.69
41.81
Native States.
3.18
2.46
14. Percentage of Cost.—The percentage of total cost borne by Government
and other bodies
during the trien-
nium under review
as compared with
the previous trien-
nium, is shown in the marginal table. It will be seen that the share of cost borne
by Government has increased from 34.17 per cent. in the previous triennium, to
39.92 in the triennium under review. The increase in proportion of the cost borne
by Government was mainly due to the gradually increasing expenditure of the
Vaccine Depôt, Meiktila, and to the cost of training of Native Superintendents of
Vaccination and apprentice vaccinators.
Statement I.
15. Lymph supply.—During the triennium the lymph supply of the whole
province, with the exception of Rangoon, has been obtained from the Vaccine Depôt,
Meiktila, which has been under the continuous superintendence of Major
Entrican. During the first year of the triennium 218 calves were inoculated
with 182 successes, during the second year 240 with 205 successes, and during the
third 263 with 239 successes. It is reported by the Superintendent that calves in
good condition have of late been difficult to obtain on account of partial failure
of the crops and local scarcity, the worst effect of which, however, has been the
difficulty experienced in getting a sale for calves after inoculation. This was
finally effected at a heavy loss. The primary success rate of the province
during the first year of the triennium amounted to 90.80 per cent., during the
second year to 90.65 per cent., and during the third to 91.78 per cent. These
figures are an improvement upon those of the preceding triennium, namely, 87.14,
87.20 and 84.71, per cent., respectively.
The average primary success rate for Burma during the triennium is 91.05
per cent. A distinctive cause of defective results which prevails in Burma as
compared with India is deterioration of lymph owing to length of time in transit,
and there is no doubt that this takes place to a greater extent in this province than
in India, where communications by rail and road are so much more advanced.
The following statement for the last year shows the effect of delay in the transit
and use of lymph :—
Chin Hills ... ... ... ...
Papun ... ... ... ...
Southern Shan States ... ... ... ...
Upper Chindwin ... ... ... ...
77.76
83.74
86.27
89.90
Percentage of success in
primary vaccination.
With these rates the average for the rest of the province for the same period,
namely, 92.12, is contrasted.
The present strain of vaccine at the Meiktila Depôt has been maintained for
now over two years, being kept from deterioration by retro-vaccination, and by
occasional inoculation of rabbits. Of these two devices Major Entrican considers
that the latter gives the more reliable results: so much so that he now adopts it
exclusively.
The difficulty of acquiring pure lanoline has much increased the task of keep-
ing up a satisfactory strain of lymph. This difficulty was commented upon in the
Vaccination Note for 1906-07. In spite of every effort to obtain a satis-
factory product, the same difficulty recurred during last year and the
Superintendent has but recently obtained a small quantity of suitable lanoline.
The cause of this apparent deterioration in good brands of lanoline in transit, and
storage in this climate, will be made the subject of investigation during the ensuing
year, and an attempt will be made to devise some mode of preventing it. As matters
stand, it is responsible for the fact that the major portion of the total lymph
issued during the triennium has been glycerinated or quinated. From analysis of
225,476 cases Major Entrican has ascertained the following percentage primary
success rates for each variety of lymph: —
Glycerinated lymph ... ... ... ... ...
Quinated ... ... ... ... ... ...
Lanolinated ... ... ... ... ...
Per cent.
93.8
91.0
88.6