6
TRIENNIAL REPORT ON VACCINATION IN BURMA FOR THE YEARS 1899-1900-1901-02.
Municipalities and Government respectively. The contribution from Native States
which was received from the year 1898-99 only and is omitted from the latter cal-
culations. The increase in cost under Local funds and Government over that of
the previous triennium is due to increased establishment.
12. Municipal towns.—In the triennium ending with the year 1898-99
sixteen towns showed a steady increase in the total outturn of work and eight a
continuous decline. In the triennium under review only two towns, Paungdè and
Henzada, return a continuous increase each year, while no less than sixteen show
a smaller number each year. In most places the decline is attributed to closer
supervision and the deterrent effect which punishments have had when fraudulent
work was detected, to re-vaccination being discouraged when no epidemic of small-
pox is apprehended and to some extent, difficulties in obtaining lymph.
The quality of work done in Municipal towns has, like that in districts, fallen
considerably and the remarks made in paragraph 8 of this report may be held
to apply here also.
Appendix B.
13. Protection afforded to infants in Municipal towns.—It will be seen that
there is a marked improvement in the number of children stated to have been
vaccinated within Municipal limits. In previous years the numbers shown as
operated upon were invariably in excess of the numbers available and this was
stated to be due to children being brought in from outside Municipal limits.
Orders were issued that attention should be paid to this important matter and
strict supervision enjoined. The result has been that only ten towns return a
larger number than the number shown to be available ; in the previous year only
about ten towns returned a number less than the number of infants available.
Three towns (Tavoy, Pyinmana and Taungdwingyi) protected a number of infants
equal to the number available. At Kyaukpyu 57.78, Rangoon 56.89, Ma-ubin
23.66, Kyangin 8.32 per cent. only of the number available were protected. This
is not satisfactory and the attention of the officers concerned has been invited to
the deficienncy.
Statement III.
14. Dispensary vaccination.—There has been a continuous falling off in
each of the three years under report in the total number of persons vaccinated:
7,248 subjects having been operated on against 9,450 in 1900-1901 and 12,672
in 1899-1900. This is for the most part attributable to parents and others resort-
ing in smaller numbers to the hospitals for vaccination when vaccinators can be
got to visit them at their houses. The ratio of success obtained in primary
vaccination was low in each of the three years, while that in re-vaccinations was
high, but the latter rate has fallen from 61.03 in 1899-1900 to 44.61 in 1901-1902.
This is due to more care being taken in discriminating between primary and re-
vaccination.
Statement IV.
15. Statement No. IV compares the number of primary vaccinations and
the number of successful primary vaccinations in each of the years of the decade
ending 1901-1902 by Government, Municipal and Local Fund Vaccinators as well
as in Native States and at Dispensaries and in Cantonments. A falling off is
noticeable everywhere except in Native States in the last year of the decade. The
reasons for this have been already stated, and I may here only add that every estab-
lishment has returned for 1901 -1902 an outturn of work less than what the numbers
stood at in the first year (1896-1897) of the triennium preceding that under
review.
Statement V.
16. Inspections.—The percentage of inspections to total number vaccinated,
which amounted to 40 in the previous triennium fell to 36 in the period under
review. This is partly due to the smaller numbers returned in the last year of
the latter triennium. It is satisfactory to note that Civil Surgeons have been more
alive to their responsibilities in this connection,—the percentages of inspections to
total number vaccinated having risen from 22.91 in 1899-1900 and 21.55 in 1900-
1901 to 23.26 in 1901-1902; on the other hand the percentage however verified by
Native Superintendents has fallen considerably, being 14.13, 14.92, and 11.93 in
each of the years just referred to. The percentage of primary and re-vaccination
is shown separately for the first time in this statement under orders contained in
Government of India Home Department (Sanitary letter No. 2238, dated the
30th November 1901. In some districts no record was maintained showing the