40
SONTHAL PERGUNNAHS.
No. 239, dated Deoghur, the 23rd May 1872.
From—R. C. CHANDRA, Civil Surgeon, Sonthal Pergunnahs.
To—The Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, Dinapore Circle.
I HAVE the honor to forward the accompanying annual returns and report of
the Sonthal Pergunnahs vaccine circle for the year ending 31st March 1872,
from the Deputy Superintendent of Vaccination, Sub-Assistant Surgeon Kali
Krishna Ghose. To the report is annexed a sketch map of the district of
Rajmehal in which vaccination was carried on during the year under review, as
desired in memorandum No. 4932A, dated the 22nd February last, from the
office of the Inspector-General of Hospitals.
Season's work sa¬
tisfactory
2. As will appear from the report, the work done under the Deputy
Superintendent during the year has been satisfactory. There has been a
decided increase in the number vaccinated, as well as in the percentage of suc-
cessful cases. The calculated cost for each successful case has also been less,
compared with that of the previous year, which is a peculiarly gratifying feature
of the season's operations, considering that in compliance with the recommendation
made last year, an extra allowance has been granted to the Deputy Superin-
tendent, and the vaccinators have been classified into three grades with
increased pay.
Returns reliable.
3. The work has been carried on steadily and very systematically. The
Deputy Superintendent has been constantly on the move, and has taken great
pains to inspect the work of the vaccinators. From what I have seen of his
work, I can fully rely on the returns submitted by him. As the season
advanced he was not only able to obtain a sufficient quantity of vaccine matter
for his own work, but could manage to send me frequent supplies of crusts to
help the inoculators who were carrying on the work of vaccination in the
district of Deoghur under my immediate supervision. Under these circumstances,
I venture to state that the Deputy Superintendent displayed great energy
and zeal in the discharge of his duty, and would therefore beg to recommend
that the extra allowance which was granted him last year as an experimental
measure, may be continued.
Map representing
the work.
4. Like the previous year, the work in the Deoghur district during the
year under review has been carried on under my supervision by Brahmin
inoculators. The blue shading in the rough sketch map which accompanies
this report will give an approximate idea of the work done during the past
year; whereas the red shading indicates the work of previous years. In
making out this sketch map I experienced no little difficulty, as several of the
places named in the inoculators' vernacular reports could not be found in the
map supplied to me by Government. This has, however, to a great extent
been rectified by my local knowledge of the district; so that, on the whole,
the shading in the sketch map may be depended on as approximately correct.
Work done by
Brahmin inocu-
lators.
5. With the exception of a few new-comers, most of the inoculators who
worked during the year under review were men who had worked in the pre-
vious year ; one of them made his appearance towards the end of November,
but it was not till January and the middle of February that the rest of them
came, when the work fairly started. One man joined so late as March, and
the last on the 3rd of April.
Particulars of their
proceedings
6. The number of Brahmin inoculators who thus worked in the district
of Deoghur came up to 20, and the number of villages in which they worked
was no less than 126. The total number of children vaccinated was 3,950,
amongst whom are to be found the children of some of those obstinate bun-
niahs and lower castes of Brahmins, who had remained unmoved previously by
persuasion or the example of castes higher than themselves. This number
might strike one as being slightly less than what was shown in the previous
year's return, but it is susceptible of an easy explanation. According to the
rule of their trade, the inoculators have each a certain number of families as