ABSTRACTS OF REPORTS OF CIVIL SURGEONS.
63
Inoculators induc-
ed to practise
vaccination.
2. The great increase this year is due to the fact that inoculation was prohibited ; the
old inoculators were told they would be punished if caught at their practice, but were
informed that if they came into Gowhatty they would be taught vaccination and would be
supplied with lymph. I believe the dread of punishment, as well as seeing the beneficial
effects of vaccination, induced a good many to come to Gowhatty to be taught; and also
finding that by substituting vaccination for inoculation they would not lose anything, as I
understand that out in the district they receive a fee of from 4 to 8 annas for each child
they operated on.
Method of instruc-
tion.
3. I kept each batch of inoculators at the station for from three weeks to a month that
they might see a number of cases operated on. During that time they collected a lot of scabs
from healthy children, which they took away with them into the district. I had the names
of all these men taken down, and the villages they were going to, and each got a certificate
written in Bengali and signed by me that they were to show at the police thannah that
they had been taught vaccination here. They were also cautioned that if they returned to
inoculation, the police would get instructions to take them up and send them back to Gow¬
hatty. From frequent inquiries I made, I could not learn that any of them returned to
inoculation.
4. I don't know that there is anything else to remark more than that the vaccine
operations did not cost Government anything beyond former years; one or two voluntary
vaccinators were paid two annas for each successful case, but that was discontinued this year.
There is one permanent vaccinator attached to the dispensary, and he is paid Rs. 18 a
month by the municipality.
5. The hospital assistant at Burpettah writes to say that none of the people would
consent to have their children vaccinated, and has returned the form blank, which is herewith
forwarded.
Remarks by the
Deputy Inspec-
tor-General of
Hospitals
Mr. Buckle in forwarding the above remarks:—
As regards the vaccination report submitted from Gowhatty, in which, being a non-
regulation district, the civil authorities are reported to have prohibited inoculation, and
where it appears that the inoculators have been supplied with vaccine crusts and have been
vaccinating extensively throughout the district, giving a total of 8,205 successful cases of
vaccination, against 671 cases in the previous year; there are reasons for accepting this with
doubt; that is, whether effective vaccination has been performed, or possibly merely a spurious
operation, the result of which may be to bring discredit and unbelief on the protective
influence of vaccination.
Inoculation com-
monly practised
in Assam.
In Assam inoculation, as a rule, is practised; the prejudice against vaccination is strong
In the Gowalparah district the priests fined and put out of caste individuals who had their
children vaccinated. In that instance Mr. Briscoe had to request the civil authorities to
interfere to put a stop to the exaction. At Nowgong last year small-pox was introduced
amongst the children of the station by inoculation; and the medical officers at all the other
stations report that the people are averse to the practice of vaccination, preferring and
practising inoculation.
Need of supervising
the proceedings
of converted ino-
culators.
Several cases of modified small-pox have occurred lately at Gowhatty; some amongst
the sepoys of the 43rd N. I. a few days after vaccination. In the report there
is no mention of any supervision having been exercised; the returns of the inoculators
have apparently been accepted and recorded without question, and the increase of numbers is so
marked that until another explanation is received, the return cannot be accepted as a success,
or the employment of inoculators in a similar manner recommended.
Tezpore.
Tezpore.—Mr. Imthurn states that one vaccinator was employed for four
months—December to March—on Rs. 10 a month, paid by Government; he
vaccinated over a defined area to the north and east of the station. Except in
five tea estates and two Cachari villages, where every unprotected person was ope-
rated on, work was neither systematic nor exhaustive. The civil medical officer
saw 25 per cent. of the cases, and has reason to consider the return accurate; 99
cases, of which 56 are said to have been successfully performed, in the sub-divi-
sion of Mungledye, are not included in the return, because the statement was
not verified. It shows a great advance on the previous year both in number of
cases and proportion of successful cases. There is much prejudice against vac-
cination in the district; more particularly among the priests: inoculation is
largely practised, and when small-pox breaks out, the people invariably deny
that inoculation has been performed. Mr. Imthurn has observed that on two
occasions the advent of an inoculator from Kamroop was followed by an