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vaccinators in Balasore owing to the demand of a security deposit of Rs. 10.
The Sanitary Commissioner is requested to report what necessity exists for
this security, whether it is taken elsewhere, and whether it deters men from
offering their services as vaccinators.
3. Number of operations and average per man.—The total number of vaccina-
tions, and the average number performed by each operator during the year,
as compared with the previous year, were :—
Year.
1893-94 ... ... ... ...
1892-93 ... ... ... ...
Total number
of vaccinations
performed.
1,844,304
1,836,411
Average
number of
operations per
man.
560
603
The average number of operations per man compares unfavourably with
that for 1892-93. The Lieutenant-Governor, however, notices with pleasure
an increase in the number of operations in some districts, especially Dacca,
Chittagong, Shahabad, Champaran, and Monghyr, the Civil Surgeons of which
merit commendation for their good work. It should have been explained
whether there were any special causes accounting for the increase which in
Dacca is exceptionally large, an increase of 30,000 operations or 30 per cent. In
the case of the South Lushai Hills, the return of 16,962 operations is suspicious
and hard to credit. The number is very large for so. small and scattered a
population, and implies that each of the nine vaccinators employed vaccinated
1,885 people—a far larger figure than that returned for any other district.
4. Protection afforded to infants.—The total number of infants under one year
of age was estimated at 2,461,862, of whom 363,942 or 147.83 per thousand
were vaccinated, this result being a little better than that of the previous year,
when the degree of protection was only 125.49 per mille. A comparison with
the percentages attained in other Provinces, however, shows that far less
success has been achieved by the Department in Bengal than in most parts of
India, and that attention should be specially directed to such changes in the
system here as are likely to smooth down opposition and popularise vaccination.
The best results have been obtained in Lohardaga, Malda, Palamau, and
Darjeeling, while Backergunge, Cuttack, Patna, and Puri show the worst.
There are marked differences between districts which differ but little, if at all,
in the character of their population, and these are apparently to be accounted
for only by very unequal activity in carrying on operations in the various
parts of the Circles.
5. Primary operations.—The ratio per cent. of successful cases for the entire
Province is returned at 99.20, against 99.32 in the previous year. These figures
appear to the Lieutenant-Governor incredibly high, but it does not appear that
they have awakened distrust in the minds of the Sanitary Commissioner or the
Civil Surgeon, or have been subjected to any special examination. Indeed, save
in a few districts, notably Backergunge, Chittagong, Puri, Burdwan, and Jessore,
the results of inspections made by the Civil Surgeons bring out almost or
quite as remarkable ratios of success. It seems possible that Civil Surgeons in
their rapid visits of dispensary inspection have not much time to linger in a village,
and that they only see such children as are presented before them who presum-
ably are those who have "taken" well. It is desirable that they should have a
list prepared beforehand of the operations reported by the vaccinator in the
village they intend to visit and should send for and inspect the children in
that list. The amount of success attained in the number thus collected would
probably be less than 99 per cent.
6. Secondary operations.—Column 2 of the statement of re-vaccinations has
been left blank in the case of certain districts, but, as under standing orders of
Government in the Political Department, every prisoner is, to be vaccinated on
admission, the column ought not to be altogether vacant for any district in which
there is a jail. The high percentages of successful cases against the districts of
Rajshahi, Rangpur, Faridpur, Backergunge, Tributary States, Lohardaga, and
Palamau, are hardly credible.
7. Vaccination at the expense of District Boards.—The District Board of Puri
allotted Rs. 850 for free vaccination, and Rs. 40 were contributed by the
District Board of Noakhali. The increase in the number of operations in Puri
from 14,199 to 16,828 as compared with the figures of 25,196 and 19,720 in