TRIENNIAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEARS 1899-1900—1901-1902.
3
Statement I.
4. Age.—Of the ages of those successfully vaccinated during the triennium,
316,709 were children under one year of age, 536,875 children between one and
six years old and 230,260 over six years of age and adults. Thus out of every
100 persons successfully vaccinated 29.22 were infants, 49.53 children between
one and six years and 21.25 of other ages.
Statement I.
Year.
1890 ...
1900 ...
1901
...
Registered births
during the calen-
dar years.
158,787
164,024
170,638
Registered deaths
under one year
during calendar
years.
29,525
31,544
32,168
Number of chil-
dren available
for vaccination.
129,262
132,480
138,470
Infants success-
fully vaccinated
during the year
ending 31st
March.
75,737
57,774
38,251
Percentage of
available infants
protected.
58.59
43.61
27.62
5. The table
in the margin
shows the pro-
tection afforded
to infants during
the trienniun in
Lower Burma.
Birth registration is in force in only 13 towns of Upper Burma.
Though it is not quite correct to assume that all infants dying under one
year of age escape vaccination, still, as the operation is not usually performed on
infants under six months old, a large proportion of the deaths would necessarily be
unprotected. The table may therefore be taken as approximately showing the
infantile protection afforded.
Appendices
A and C.
Quinquennium
1886—1890 ...
1891—1895 ...
1896—1900 ...
QUINQUENNIAL MEAN
Ratio per 1,000 of popu-
lation
successfully
vaccinated.
204.42
315.66
596.62
Ratio per 1,000 of mor-
tality from small-pox.
4.06
4.02
7.74
6. Protection to population.—The comparative statement and diagram re-
quired by the Government of India, form
Appendices A and C to this report.
From this statement it will be seen that
with the increase in vaccination small-
pox mortality has not decreased in a
corresponding ratio but on the other
hand has increased, as the table in the
margin would show.
This increase may be attributed to two causes : (a) to improvement in regis-
tration of deaths from small-pox,—Civil Surgeons are of opinion that mortality
under small-pox is still understated by village headmen,—and (b) to increase in
inoculation.
7. Inoculation.—The reports of Civil Surgeons, especially in Lower Burma,
go to show that inoculation is freely carried on throughout the Province and is
favoured and supported by the majority of Burmans, who consider it an unfailing
protection against small-pox, whereas vaccination has to be repeated once or
perhaps twice to ensure immunity: therefore they prefer inoculation to avoid the
trouble of getting their children vaccinated several times. Further, the inocu-
lators are sayas or Native doctors, who treat the vaccinated subjects profes-
sionally in their own way and generally look after them till well, whereas the vac-
cinators are ignorant of such treatment and only see the vaccinated cases once,
when verifying results.
District Medical Officers report outbreaks of small-pox caused by inoculated
persons having travelled into their districts and thus set alight the disease.
In one case an inoculator was prosecuted and fined by a Township Officer, but he
appealed and the Chief Court upset the conviction and since then the Civil
Surgeon reports this man has been parading the written judgment of the Chief
Court as authority granted by Government for him to work as an inoculator, with
the result that vaccination is becoming increasingly more difficult.
Statement I.
8. Result by districts.—In 20 of the 39 districts the total number vacci-
nated and the number of successful primary. operations declined during the three
years under review. This decline is most marked in the districts noted in the
margin. In the Thôngwa
and Thatôn districts the
decrease in numbers reaches
the enormous figures of twenty-three and nineteen thousands respectively. The
Civil Surgeon, Thôngwa district, attributes the falling off to the change made by
placing the vaccinators under the supervision of Township Officers. The Civil
Surgeon, Sandoway, rather curiously states the reason for the falling off as due
" to the vaccinators not getting help from officials." The Civil Surgeon, Hantha-
(1)
(2)
(3)
Sandoway.
Hanthawaddy.
Tharrawaddy.
(4)
(5)
(6)
Thôngwa.
Bassein.
Amherst.
(7)
(8)
(9)
Thatôn.
Mandalay
Shwebo.
(10)
(11)
Sagaing.
Pakôkku