( 9 )
appears that the whole of the spur will be required by the military authorities
almost immediately for the construction of barracks for troops, the animal
vaccination depôt cannot be established there. The only other suitable place
for it in Darjeeling is a piece of land situated on Birch Hill belonging to His
Highness the Maharajah of Burdwan, with whose agent I am in communication
with a view to leasing the land. When the Darjeeling depôt is in working
order, which I hope will be early next year, the supply of animal lymph from
it and from the Calcutta depôt ought to be sufficient to enable the Bengal
vaccine establishment to dispense with lymph obtained from the human subject.
How vaccination was received
g enerally. Present attitude and
feeling of the people as regards
vaccination.
15. Generally speaking, the present attitude of the people towards vaccin-
ation is one of passive acceptance of the prophy-
lactic. But in nearly every village there are families
who habitually refuse vaccination either openly or
by covertly hiding away their children from the
vaccinators. What the villagers seem most to object to is having to pay for the
operation and the using of some of their children as vaccinefers, this being
attended by the discomfort of having to carry their children to the neighbouring
village and other obvious discomforts. As the years go on some progress
undoubtedly occurs in the popularizing of vaccination, as the people come to
regard it as the Government dustur to have the operation performed, and to a
certain extent they now seem to appreciate its benefits; but the protection
of rural areas can never be placed on a proper footing until the Compulsory
Vaccination Act in a suitably modified form be extended to them. The whole
question is under the consideration of this Department, and a report on the
subject will be submitted to Government in due course.
By what class, according to
religion, vaccination is best accept-
ed and most resisted.
16. The Hindus who most resist vaccination are the higher and better-off
classes, viz., Brahmins, Marwaries, Rajputs, and
Beniahs. But in Lower Bengal these classes readily
accept and appreciate the benefits of the measure.
Among Musalmans the Ferazis give most trouble. Vaccination is most readily
accepted by the lowest classes of the people, both Hindus and Mahomedans.
Local aid.
As a rule assistance, whenever applied for by the officers of the Vaccination
Department, was willingly rendered by the local
authorities—Magistrates, Subdivisional Officers, and
the police—in overcoming opposition on the part of the people, and in promoting
the cause of vaccination generally. In the instances in which assistance was
refused by the local authorities, their inaction in the matter is rather to be
attributed to having no legal power to interfere than to a disinclination to
do so.
Result of vaccination on the
prevalence of small-pox.
17. The following table shows the result of vaccination on the prevalence
of small-pox during the past seven years. A period
of seven years is chosen because that is the period
during which the prophylactic is supposed to retain
its efficacy : —
Areas under vaccination... ...
„ not under vaccination ... ...
Number of areas which were under
vaccination in—
1883-84.
430
149
1884-85.
463
116
1885-86.
472
107
1886-87.
488
91
1887-88.
507
72
1888-89.
542
35
1889-90.
548
29
Death-rate from small-pox per mille of
population.
1883-84.
.12
.25
1884-85.
.16
.55
1885-86.
.06
.26
1886-87.
.02
.16
1887-88.
.04
.16
1888-89.
.09
.09
1889-90.
.14
.15
The noticeable point is that the death-rate from small-pox in the areas
which are not under vaccination is as a rule much higher than it is in those
which are protected.
Diagrams showing the death-
rate from small-pox and the pro-
portion of the population protected
against the. disease by vaccination.
18. The first three of the six following diagrams show the death-rate
from small-pox per 10,000 of the population in
each district of the province during each of the
three years under review, and the fourth, fifth and
sixth diagrams the proportion of the population
protected against the disease by vaccination during the seven years preceding
each of the three years 1887-88, 1888-89, and 1889-90.
B