(14)
results of children vaccinated with this lymph. The number of kids used in this
instance also was very small.
Vaccination direct from village
calves.
15. In order to do away with the system of arm-to-arm vaccination,
Dr. Dyson also suggested, while he was officiating
as Sanitary Commissioner of these Provinces, the
introduction of the Punjab and Central Provinces
plan of vaccination direct from village calves. Under this system, as explain-
ed in the Triennial Vaccination Report of 1890—93, a calf is first inoculated
with lanoline lymph, and from this calf all the children of the village, as well as
calves from neighbouring villages, are vaccinated. These calves are returned
to their own villages after vaccination, and when the lymph is ripe, a vaccina-
tor proceeds to the village and vaccinates from the calves all the children as
well as fresh calves from other villages. The operation causes the animals but
little pain and no permanent injury, and as buffalo calves serve as well as cow
calves, it is easy to avoid wounding any susceptibilities. Dr. Dyson claimed for
this system the advantage that, while it obviates -the sufferings to which, he says,
arm-to-arm vaccination exposes the human vaccinifer, it removes the objections
urged by some to vaccination from low caste or possibly unhealthy children. The
Government accordingly sanctioned the introduction of the scheme tentatively
in the eight districts of Burdwan, Midnapore Murshidabad, Jessore, Dinajpur,
Jalpaiguri, Cuttack and Puri, and the following is an abstract of the local
reports on its working last cold weather. I wish to mention here that, although
I thoroughly approve of vaccination direct from the calf, I have not the same
objection to arm-to-arm vaccination which Dr. Dyson seems to have. In my
opinion arm-to-arm vaccination is unobjectionable when properly conducted;
this was also the opinion of Surgeon-General Bellew, C.S.I., formerly Sanitary
Commissioner of the Punjab, who stated that—
"Arm-to-arm vaccination is the only practice that should be pursued after vaccination has
been once started in any community. Skilfully performed and with proper precautions in
selecting healthy children for the lymph supply, the operation rarely fails and the vaccine
disease runs its regular course with little inconvenience to the subject, and leaves, as proof
of its action on the system, a permanent scar bearing the distinctive characters of the opera-
tion. By the arm-to-arm process and the selection of only healthy children for the lymph
supply, there is no risk of accident to the lymph, which is the purest and most active that can
be obtained."
Burdwan.—Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Price reports:—
"Directions regarding the introduction of calf vaccination into this district were received
late in the season, and I have to report that it has been a failure. The vaccinators, almost to
a man, refuse to do the operations on the calf on religious grounds, and it would not have been
wise to dismiss them on these grounds,to say nothing of the difficulty of obtaining willing and
suitable substitutes. It was tried in the Burdwan Jail and in village Boroprason, thana
Satgachia. In the jail 9 calves in all were vaccinated (7 successfully, 1 unsuccessfully and
1 doubtful), and in the villages 7 calves (2 successful and 5 unsuccessful). From the jail
calves 18 men were revaccinated, of which 13 were successful, 2 unsuccessful and 3 doubtful.
No persons were vaccinated from the village calves, as the people refused to allow the calves
to be taken to the next villages. The calves were vaccinated according to the method
described in the circular from the Sanitary Commissioner's office, and it struck me that
even when the whole of the points inoculated (6 to 8) took, the amount of lymph obtained
was "very small and would not go far in vaccinating the children in a large village, besides
vaccinating another calf to be taken to the next village. Leaving out the religious
objections on the part of the vaccinators, my recent experience leads me to think that the
method is much more troublesome than arm-to-arm vaccination when carried on in villages.
When the lymph is once established with the good lanoline vaccine paste now obtainable
from the Calcutta Depôt, there is no difficulty in carrying it from village to village. If the
vaccinator cannot easily obtain a child for this purpose, what is more simple than to store
the fresh lymph in capillary tubes with which he is supplied."
Midnapore.—Surgeon-Captain
O'Gorman reports:—
"The letter authorizing the introduction of calf vaccination arrived here too late in
the season to take it in hand suitably. The staff were busily engaged in inspecting all over
the district, and the Civil Surgeon was overburdened with work, and but little attention could
be paid to an innovation looked at askance by most of our vaccinators. However, I made
efforts to start it, and at intervals vaccinated altogether 5 calves, which I procured from
the Central Jail, as nobody would lend us any, and we had no funds available to purchase
any. But our success was very-partial indeed."