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KHÁSI AND JAINTIA HILLS.
Superintendence and staff.
74. There were three provincial vaccinators and one municipal. Of the provincial
vaccinators, one worked under the missionary at Mauphlong;
the other two were under the superintendence of the Civil
Surgeon, Dr. R. Neil Campbell, who was in charge of the district throughout the
year. Of these two vaccinators, one was permanent, and the other temporary for six
months.
Results.
75. During the year under report 3,028 operations were performed by the vacci-
nation staff as contrasted with 3,062 in 1888-89, and the
percentage of primary successful cases was 87.64, as com-
pared with 82.39 of the previous year. The Civil Surgeon performed 161 operations, and
the Hospital-Assistant 53.
Inspections
76. The Civil Surgeon inspected the work about the station of Shillong and also in
two villages beyond Cherra towards Shella. He examined
296 cases, of which 262, or 88.51 per cent., were found
successful.
Lymph source.
77. Lymph was obtained through the Deputy-Surgeon-General, Assam District.
English lymph and lymph received from Darjeeling were
successful, but the former was preferred.
Feelings of the people towards vaccination.
78. In some places in the remote portions of the district the feelings of the indigenous
population are hostile towards vaccination, and even in and
about Shillong the help of the civil authorities had to be
obtained. No opposition is met with amongst the Khásia converts of the Welsh
Missionaries.
Expenditure.
79. The total cost was Rs. 761-2-7 in 1889-90, against Rs. 736-7 in 1888-89, and
the average cost of each successful case was 4 annas and 7
pie, against 4 annas and 9 pie.
GÁRO HILLS.
Superintendence and staff.
80. Dr. P. M. Gupta, the Civil Medical Officer, superintended the vaccination work
in this district throughout the season. There were six
provincial vaccinators employed, and they averaged 987.5
operations each. They all performed a total of 5,925 primary vaccinations, and of these,
5,830, or 98.39 per cent., were successful, as compared with 5,894 operations and 5,788,
or 98.20 per cent. successful of the previous year. The Civil Medical Officer and the
Hospital-Assistant performed no vaccinations.
Inspections.
81. 1,028, or 17.35 per cent. of the total vaccinations, were inspected by the Civil
Medical Officer, of which 997, or 96.98 per cent., were
found successful. In 1888-89 he was able to verify by
inspection 2,348 cases, but his inspections in 1889-90 show a decrease of 1,320 cases.
This decrease is due to the reasons given in paragraph 4 of this report.
Disadvantages explained
82. All the vaccinators were old hands, and therefore no measures were neces-
sary to train them. At the beginning of the season one
vaccinator fell sick and resigned, and it was over a month
before another man was found to replace him. The head vaccinator was also ill and under
treatment for nearly three weeks. Two of the vaccinators were convicted for having
fraudulently exacted money from. Gáros, and were sentenced to imprisonment about the
middle of February, and nobody was found at that late period to replace them. In spite
of these disadvantages, the number of operations performed in 1889-90, although it
does not show any perceptible increase as compared with that of 1888-89, does not
show any diminution.
Lymph.
83. Lymph was obtained from Calcutta, Dacca, and Darjeeling, and also ten tubes of
English lymph were received from the Sanitary Commissioner,
Assam. The results were fairly successful.
Expenditure.
84. The total cost of vaccination amounted to Rs. 813-15-1, which was entirely
borne by Government, there being no Local Board nor
municipality in this district. The total expenditure in
1888-89 was Rs. 931-13-9, and the average cost of each successful case was 2 annas
and 6¾ pie, but in 1889-90 the average cost was 2 annas and 2¾ pie, which is an
improvement.