18
THE METROPOLITAN CIRCLES.
replace men absent on account of sickness. These men were diligent and have
become fair vaccinators ; others offered, but when they learned that they would
get no pay during their pupilage, they withdrew. In Diamond Harbour sub-
division some inoculators commenced vaccination on their own account. Deputy
Superintendent Jadub Chunder Ghose saw some of their work; out of twenty
cases, in nine there were four scars, in one, three, in nine, two, and in one,
one scar only, showing only partial success. He was unable to inspect any recent
cases and thus judge of the quality of the virus used.
Necessity of their
being certified.
A plan proposed
Such attempts on the part of inoculators may at first sight appear likely to
advance the cause of vaccination, but I fear that if men but very imperfectly
acquainted with vaccination practise the operation, much inferior vaccination
will be performed, which will not protect from small-pox, and hence vaccination
as a protective agent will fall in the estimation of the people. It may be diffi-
cult to stop such irregularities, but I would suggest that some steps should be
taken to check them if possible. The people seem to think some certificate of
qualification necessary, and on one occasion when this was demanded the inocula-
tor produced the certificate of a vaccinator of the Calcutta suburbs (which he
had improperly obtained) as his own. This feeling that a certificate of qualifi-
cation is needed should be fostered, and probably when certificated men are
available they will be resorted to in preference to others. To supply certificated
men, I would submit that a limited number of inoculators (say two to each of
the nine divisions of the metropolitan vaccine establishment) might be retained
as apprentice vaccinators at a low salary of Rs. 5 a month; they on becom-
ing qualified would receive certificates from myself and go out to vaccinate
on their own account, and these certificates would be renewed annually so long
as the vaccinator would allow his work to be inspected by an officer of this
department, and thus in time a number of persons qualified to vaccinate would
be scattered over the district working for their own benefit with but a very
small initiatory expense to Government.
Need of supervi-
sion
In order that this department might keep up even a slight supervision over
these private practitioners of vaccination (and the supervision could not in any
case be more than slight), I would suggest that they should keep registers and
deposit them at stated periods in the thannahs, where they could be procured and
verified by myself or the Deputy Superintendents. Some supervision is essential
if the vaccination is to be kept up to a high standard, so as to be a real safeguard
against small-pox. Our own trained vaccinators would carry on operations with
degenerated lymph if they were not looked after, and men who would at most
be but imperfectly trained, working for fees and without supervision, would soon
look to numbers rather than quality; we should soon have spurious vaccination,
which is no vaccination at all; these would not be exempt from liability to small-
pox, many would suffer, and vaccination would fall into disgrace.
Extra vaccinators
16. Extra vaccinators.— There were eleven extra men paid by eighteen
municipalities for various periods ; of these, eight belonged to our regular
establishment, and on being sent to do municipal work were replaced by other
men specially hired; three were specially hired for the purpose.
It is certainly best, when it is possible to spare them, to supply the muni-
cipalities with men from the metropolitan vaccine circles, as they are then less
under surveillance than when working in the circles, and our own men are more
trustworthy than strangers ; it does, however, take away many of our best men
and weaken the circles themselves, and the number vaccinaed by a man thus
working alone in the limited area of a township is usually much less than is
done by each vaccinator of a gang working in a wider field. I shall, however,
continue to the best of my ability to supply the demands of the municipalities
and others for vaccinators as a useful adjunct to the work of the circles.
Work done by
them.
I show in the annexed table the work done by these extra men, together
with the results. The men were all visited either by myself or a Deputy Superin-
tendent, to verify the registers and inspect the work; the vaccination was of
very good quality.