REPORT ON VACCINATION IN ASSAM.
5
impossible to single out by name, as I should like to do, those who have worked hardest
and best. In not a single district report has any Civil Surgeon favourably mentioned
any subordinate. This is a great mistake. Proper pride and emulation ought to be
encouraged, and this can be done easily by a few words of courteous acknowledgment from
a superior. The average of all the Provincial vaccinators, 971, is very good indeed; and
in Shillong and Tura they averaged 1,562 and 1,439 respectively. I feel some difficulty in
accepting the very large proportion of work in the hills, where distances are so great and
the population so few. In Sylhet the average for 10 operators was 1,083 each.
Municipal vaccinators.
13. There were only eight municipal vaccinators, and they performed only 4,146
operations, with 3,679 successful, or 88.7 percent. Their aver-
age is, therefore, only a trifle over 500 cases. Their work has
been stigmatised as "miserable" in previous years; but certainly the figures of this season
are double the average of last, and may, it is possible, continue to improve. Dhubri, with
923 cases and 881 successes, is an example of energy in even a municipal servant; and
Sibságar, Gauháti, and Jorhát have also done well.
Local Fund vaccinators.
14. There were 40 Local Fund vaccinators employed during the year, and their total
work amounted to 26,486 cases and to 23,875 successes;
the average is 662 and 597, or 90.18 per cent. On the
whole, considering with what difficulty these men are recruited; that many of them do
not begin work until late in the season, and are often unskilful, unknown, and uneducated,
more cannot be expected. The highest proportion seems to have been reached in
Nowgong, where 6 men worked 5,871 cases, and the lowest at Kohima, where a man is said
to have performed 12 cases, with 9 successes, for which he drew Rs. 70 pay at Rs. 10 a
month and Rs. 21-6-0 as travelling allowance. His average cost of each successful case
is correctly given at Rs. 10-2-51
Ez-inoculators
Gross total.
15. Lastly come the ex-inoculators, as they have been hitherto termed. By refer-
ence to the tables of previous years, the number of these
men has been greatly reduced. In 1881-82 in Kámrúp
alone there were 76; this year there have been only 28, viz., 18 in Kámrúp, 8 in Goál pára,
1 in Sylhet, and 1 (apprentice) in the Gáro Hills. But their statistics have not diminished
materially. In 1881-82 the numbers vaccinated by these men were 15,890, with 14,835
successful. Last season 51 men are said to have performed 13,069 operations, with 12,272
successes; this season 28 (practically 26) men performed 15,338 operations, with 14,417,
or 93.99 per cent., successes. Notwithstanding all that both
Dr. Mullane and Dr. Dobson urge in their favour, I should be
glad to have them still further reduced. The outcome of all vaccination by State aid in Assam
for the season 1884-85, i.e., exclusive of private tea-garden agency, is 94,699 primary opera-
tions, with 86,914, or 91.78 per cent., successful; and 583 secondary, and 463, or 79.41
per cent., successful. In Mr. McNaught's memorandum will be found an allusion to
the registration of vaccination being confused; and Dr. Macnamara admits that in
Sylhet children are re-vaccinated until they " take." It is not a matter of much moment;
but so long as "re-vaccination" has separate columns for report, it is advisable the two
classes should be kept as distinct as possible.
TABLE No. IV.
Showing the number of vaccinations actually inspected by the Civil Surgeons, Assistant-Surgeons, and
Native Inspectors and the number of those found successful during the year 1884-85.
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Districts
Goálpára ...........................
Kámrúp ........................
Nowgong ....................
Darrang ........................
Sibságar ........................
Lakhimpur ........................
Nága Hills ............................
Khási „
Garo „ ................................
Sylhet ............................
Cachar ............................
Total ............
Number of vaccinations
inspected.
By Civil Sur-
geons.
5,930
1,508
154
1,168
3,090
2,604
203
.... 1,903
880
86
18,381
By Assistant-
Surgeon.
....
.... 1,928
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
1,928
By Native In-
spectors.
4,815
3,940
4,001
....
....
...
....
....
.... 9,469
....
22,225
Number of vaccinations
found successful.
By Civil Sur-
geons.
5,526
1,361
84
1,029
3,571
2,124
171
.... 1,846
811
73
16,596
By Assistant-
Surgeon.
....
.... 1,620
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
1,620
By Native In-
spectors.
4,609
3,284
3,126
....
....
....
....
....
.... 9,439
....
20,458
Number of vaccinations
found unsuccessful.
By Civil Sur-
geons.
404
147
70
139
425
480
31
... 57
19
13
1,785
By Assistant-
Surgeon.
....
.... 308
....
.... ...
....
...
....
....
....
308
By Native In¬
spectors
206
656
875
....
....
....
....
....
.... 30
....
1,767
Percentage of success-
ful cases actually veri-
fied by inspection
By Civil Sur-
geons
93.18
90.25
54.54
88.09
89.36
81.57
84.65
.... 96.99
97.71
84.88
90.28
By Assistant¬
Surgeon.
....
.... 84.03
....
....
....
....
....
....
.... ....
84.03
By Native In-
spectors
95.72
83.35
78.13
....
..
.... ....
....
....
....
....
92.04
* By Civil Surgeons 403 By Hospital-Assistants 3,593.
Inspection.
16. The important subject of inspection is illustrated by the preceding table.
Out of a gross total of 103,731 vaccinations, the annual
reports state that 42.534 were inspected, viz., 18,381 by
Civil Surgeons, 1,928 by Assistant-Surgeon Hari Charan Sen in Nowgong, and 22,225
by native inspectors. Of these, 16,596, or 90.28 per cent., were reported successful
C