SONTHAL PERGUNNAHS.
35
The operations were commenced in the first week of October with tubes
of lymph received from England. These tubes had kept well with the excep-
tion of a few which had lost their transparency, and they had given rise in the
hands of my vaccinators on an average to at least 40 per cent. of successful
cases; so had the tubes from Calcutta which the Superintendent-General of
Vaccination was kind enough to supply me for some time. As a rule I would
not allow more than one, or at most two men to be operated on from one tube.
Arm-to-arm vaccination has been a little more generally practised this year
than in the previous one, nearly half the number of cases being arm to arm.
But owing to the prejudices of the people, as shown in last year's report, it was
not so often allowed as we wished.
Inspection.
5. The subjoined statement shows the amount of inspection performed
by the Deputy Superintendent during the year.
Seen after the 16th day... ...
Ditto from 13th to 16th day ...
Ditto 9th to 12th day ...
Ditto
5th to 8th day ...
Ditto
1st to 4th day...
Total...
Successful.
4,835
1,426
594
361
...
7,216
Unsuccess-
ful.
395
93
36
21
...
545
Doubtful.
74
55
45
16
...
190
Total.
5,304
1,574
675
398
6
7,957
Absent or
not ins-
pected.
298
62
22
13
...
395
Grand
Total.
5,602
1,636
697
411
6
8,352
REMARKS.
Seen too early to decide
on the result.
Percentage of suc-
cess.
It will be seen from the above statement that 95.27 per cent. of all the cases
have been inspected by me. The percentage of success in cases seen by me is
90.68, while that in the general return is 90.86, the difference being slight
indeed.
The operations were generally performed in four points, but sometimes in six
and sometimes in two. I am sorry I could not give the exact number of points
that were successful in each case, because I did not note them down particularly
in my inspection book. It is always desirable and should be our aim to have
the full number of points successful in every case, but practically this is not
always attainable; and I am inclined to think that if two or three or even one
point gives rise to a perfect vesicle which runs a regular course, is surrounded
with good areola and attended with febrile symptoms on the proper day, the
system is as sure to have been affected as if five or six points had been success-
ful in the same way.
Plan of inspection.
My inspections were generally conducted in company with my vaccinators.
From the weekly reports submitted by them I would ascertain the localities
where they were at work, go and find them there and take them with me in
inspecting and minutely examining all the cases one by one. Their presence
facilitated the inspection a great deal; for the people here are apt to fly from
a stranger who appears for the first time amongst them, while they readily and
gladly bring their children for inspection at the call of the vaccinator, who being
constantly among them is looked upon with confidence. Thus also I had not
only an opportunity of comparing at the very spot the registers of my vaccina-
tors with the actual number vaccinated and marking those that were unsuccessful
or doubtful, but of examining the mode in which operations were performed by
having them done in my presence, and of pointing out to the vaccinators any
defects either in the method of operation, in the selection of matter for the