8
Arm-to-arm vaccination.
35. The practice of arm-to-arm vaccination has been practically abandoned through-
out the whole province; none of the Civil Surgeons report
that any such operations have been performed, I have not
myself heard of any, and as long as an almost unlimited supply of most excellent calf
lymph can be got from the Vaccine Depôt, Shillong, I do not suppose it will ever again
be reverted to.
Death-rate from small-pox.
36. The annexed diagram shows the death-rate from small-pox recorded in 1898,
as compared with the amount of protection afforded by
successful vaccination during the seven years 1892-93
to 1898-99; and has been prepared in accordance with the orders contained in
Government of India, Home Department, letter No. 49, dated the 8th February 1894.
About one quarter of the population of Assam are protected against small-pox by
vaccination, but as in many neighbourhoods the people will not allow their children
to be vaccinated, in spite of the most earnest persuasion, every now and then small-
pox breaks out, and great loss of life occurs, as happened last year in the Nowgong
district.
Report on Bovine Vaccine
Lymph Depôt.
37. Lieutenant-Colonel R. Neil Campbell's Annual Report on the Bovine Vaccine
Lymph Depôt at Shillong is printed in extenso as
Appendix A to this report. The work done during the past
season has been considerably in excess of that done in any
previous one, and the request of the Superintendent for an increased establishment is so
evidently well founded that I have directed him to come up officially for sanction.
Excluding expenditure by the Manipur State which amounted to Rs. 762-14-0, the total
cost of the depôt was Rs. 7,730-5-5, being Rs. 733-4-4 more than last year; this
increase was caused by more capillary tubes being required, and more calves having
been purchased and fed. The present arrangement for the supply of calves seems to
be satisfactory and is certainly the best available. A contractor supplies them at
Rs. 7 per head ; he stands all risks of deaths en route and before and after inoculation,
and he takes the protected calves away when they are no longer required. An attempt
was made during the year to start additional depôts at other stations to minimise the
chance of suitable lymph not being always available at Shillong owing to any outbreak
of cattle-disease, but the expense was found to be prohibitive. No less than 348,967
tubes were loaded and sent out, but as only 258,905 vaccinations were performed in
the whole year, it is evident that the vaccinators waste the tubes; this is known to
be the case in some instances, and the Civil Surgeons have been asked to give their
attention to the number of tubes supplied to each vaccinator and the number of
operations he reports as having been performed.
38. Regarding the method of preparing lymph for transmission to the operators,
I reproduce as Appendix B some remarks which I had the honor of addressing to
you in November last, as they may possibly be of use to others interested in the
question.
Mortality amongst the calves.
39. The mortality amongst the calves used has been decreased, viz., from 101 to
34, owing to better food and more bedding having been
given, and a higher price paid for them, which, owing to
the fact that the contractor gets all that recover back free to sell for agricultural work,
induces him to bring up a much better class of animal. But I would beg to add
respectfully, with reference to paragraph 4 of Government of India letter No. 641, dated
the 16th February 1899, that the remark of the Army Sanitary Commission that
excessive mortality amongst the calves might increase the caste prejudices of the
vaccinators, is founded on a misunderstanding. We have no difficulties of caste
prejudices of vaccinators to contend with at all, some of them are Hindus, some
Khasis, some Assamese, and others Muhammadans; but none have the least chance of
knowing what the mortality amongst the calves is, whether large or small, until the
Annual Depôt Report is published, and I do not suppose that even one amongst the
whole lot ever has a single paragraph of it read to him. Given a sufficient establishment
to feed the animals and load the tubes, a far greater quantity of lymph up, to our
usual standard could be produced.
I have the honor to be,
SIR,
Your most obedient Servant,
C. W. CARR-CALTHROP, M.D., Ch.D., Colonel,
Principal Medical Officer and Sanitary Commissioner, Assam.