REPORT ON VACCINATION IN ASSAM.
23
Surgeon-Major Monteath was in bad health and altogether unfit for duty at the beginning
of the season, and afterwards Surgeon H. C. Banerji, in military employ, held the civil
duties in addition, and was not available for any district visiting.
Lymph supply.
138. Many serious complaints have been made for the last two years as to the
quality of the lymph obtained, and the Deputy-Commissioner
in forwarding the report states that these complaints had
frequently been made to him. It may be as well to explain here how the supply of lymph
for the Province is arranged. Early in each year an indent is prepared in this office for
English lymph in tubes and passed on to the Sanitary Commissioner with the
Government of India for supply. The indent for 1884-85 asked for 200 tubes, and in
reply the Sanitary Commissioner intimated it had been reduced to 100 in consequence of
the difficulty in obtaining a large supply of good lymph. The lymph was received on
the 23rd September, and immediately distributed. Dr. Partridge states that three
tubes were sent to Cachar, but this is probably a mistake: eight English tubes, and one of
calf lymph from Bombay were forwarded to Cachar on the 6th October. Beside this initial
supply, every Civil Surgeon is in communication direct with the Sanitary Commissioners
of Bengal and the North-West Provinces, and obtains periodical or emergent supplies.
Manifestly, it is the proper way that Civil Surgeons should make their own arrangements
for Indian lymph. It would be a useless circumlocution that all supply should first be
centralised at Shillong, then again radiated. I have heard of no difficulties elsewhere;
the quality varies, but supply by crust or tubes is always ample. Probably, Dr. Monteath's
ill-health was the cause of this, as of many other shortcomings where the civil
medical duties had been allowed to fall altogether to subordinates. Dr. Partridge says
that the quality of the lymph from this office and from the North-West Provinces
was good, that from Calcutta bad. It is of course understood that the first limited
supply of selected English lymph shall be used in the sadr station only on selected cases
and under the personal supervision of the Civil Surgeon. When once the local supply
has been established, the vaccinators themselves should be held responsible for keeping it
up, but in practice no doubt many of them are exceedingly careless, and without constant
inspection they fail to keep up tubes or they carry on work with bad lymph.
Working staff.
139. The staff of operators employed in Cachar was increased to ten, which included
three provincial, one municipal, and three Local Fund vacci-
nators. The Civil Surgeon, one Hospital-Assistant, and one
compounder added their quota. If three or four more vaccinators are entertained by
the Local Board, an application for a native inspector, which is much needed,
would probably be sanctioned. From the annual report it is evident that each
operator has not been given a definite area in which alone to work; there has been no
inspection, and it is probable the favourable statistics of past years are to a large extent
untrue. Dr. Partridge has much before him to put vaccination under thorough organised
command.
Statistics.
140. Notwithstanding an increase of three local operators, the total reaches only
4,744 cases, of which 3,738, or 78.79 per cent., are reported
to be successful. There were 13 re-vaccinations, and 9
successful. In 1883-84 there were 5,073 cases, of which 3,926, or 77 per cent., were
successful.
Examination of particular classes as to
protection.
141. The following table gives in this year's report
details of particular classes examined with a view to ascer-
tain the amount of protection afforded :—
Class of persons examined.
Prisoners ...............
Dispensary patients...
School boys ............
Total .........
Number exa-
mined.
60
32
302
394
Inoculated.
39
10
192
241
Percentage of
total examined.
65.00
31.25
63.58
61.17
Vaccinated.
20
19
61
100
Percentage of
total examined.
33.33
59.37
20.19
25.38
Had small-pox.
1
2
15
18
Percentage of
total examined.
1.66
6.25
4.96
4.57
Unprotected.
...
1
34
35
Percentage of
total examined.
...
3.12
11.26
8.88
142. The figures do not strike me as reliable. The dispensary patients especially
must have been selected. Mr. Kennedy mentions in a general way that he had been parti-
cularly struck with the prevalence of inoculation among garden coolies in jail. But as
these men are mostly immigrants, so far at least as the prisoners are concerned, it is not