2
NOTES AND STATISTICS ON VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEAR 1908-09.
offered are reasonable and must be accepted as accounting for the decrease in the
outturn of work. In several instances the obstacles to vaccination were the subject
of correspondence during the year. In the Henzada District, for instance, there has
long been a difficulty in getting men of reliability and energy to work as vaccinators in
the district. The service is unpopular in this district and good men will not stay.
The altogether unreliable statistics of work done, furnished by the older vaccinators
resulted in the dismissal of the worst offenders by the Civil Surgeon in the pre-
vious year, and in spite of much effort on his part, this officer has not been able
to make any great headway against the prevalling apathy of the people and their
distaste for the operation. Until all grades of Civil Officers in this district unite to
p ersuade the people to accept the operation, and a better class of vaccinators can
be induced to remain in the district, no marked progress is to be expected.
There is no doubt that the severe plague and cholera epidemics, which have visited
the Meiktila Division during the year, have produced an effect detrimental to the per-
formance of vaccination in many parts of the districts. A similar factor was at work
in the Toungoo District and in some instances the Civil Surgeon and Vaccinators
were refused admission to the villages. No doubt other districts were affected to
some extent in the same way. It has, however, to be remarked that the severe
plague and cholera outbreaks in the Tharrawaddy District did not prevent the increase
of vaccination work in that district. The same remark applies to the Prome and
Bassein Districts. The effect produced by a small-pox epidemic in increasing the
outturn of vaccination work is well recognised, but the plea put forward by the
Civil Surgeon of Pyapôn that the falling off in the year under review is to be
explained by the absence of small-pox does not carry weight, since there was no
more small-pox in that district in the preceding year than in 1908-09. In the Pakôkku
District, where there was a severe small-pox epidemic in 1907, the outturn
of work rose by 796 primary operations in consequence of the vaccination staff
being augmented in the year under review; there was, as might have been
expected, a decrease in revaccinations consequent on the cessation of the
epidemic.
The large increase in the outturn of work in the Southern Shan States, nearly
all in primary operations, was due to improved organisation of the vaccination
staff, and to the special efforts made by the Civil Surgeons of Taunggyi and
Loimwe, and is much to their credit.
Statement I.
4. Primary Vaccination.—In 40 districts there was a total decrease of 5,117
primary operations.
Appendix B.
5. Infantile Vaccination in towns.—A total of 19,981 primary vaccinations on
infants under 12 months of age were successful, in 45 towns, as compared with
19,530 in 44 towns in 1907-08 an increase of 451 over the work of the previous
year. Twenty-two towns show a definite increase in the number of successful
operations on infants. In Rangoon the excess was 309, and in Paungdè 179.
Gyobingauk, Letpadan and Thônzè between them show an increase of 182,
Toungoo of 216, and Allanmyo of 178. Pyapôn, Wakèma, and Bassein all show
a creditable increase. Several towns show a considerable falling off in this branch
of the work. This is observed in all the towns of the Arakan Division. In
Myanaung the number of succesful operations on infants fell from 464 to 226, and
in Ngathainggyaung from 96 to 20. In Tavoy the decrease was 284, in Zalun
186 and in Pakôkku 143.
Statement I.
6. Percentage of success obtained.—The average successful results in
primary vaccination for the whole province was 93.58 per cent. of operations.
This is higher than in any previous year, and compares favourably with the 91.78
of 1907-08. In different districts the percentage of success gained varied from
98.82 in Rangoon, to 82.44 in the Ruby Mines District. The highest percentage
of successes in districts was achieved in Lower Chindwin (98.57), Meiktila
(98.51), and Mandalay (97.24). The districts showing the lowest percentages of
success were Ruby Mines (82.44), Salween (82.81), and Northern Shan States
(86.56). The Superintendent, Meiktila Depôt, writes " the quality has been
exceedingly good throughout the year. The returns received for 257,284 cases
give a percentage success of 92.98, or practically 93, compared with 91.2 of
1907-08, and 90.65 of 1906-07. "