Report on Vaccine Operations in the Punjab for the year ending
31st March 1880.
FROM
JOHN BENNETT, ESQUIRE, M.D.,
Superintendent
General of Vaccination,
Punjab,
To
W. M. YOUNG, ESQUIRE,
Secretary to Government, Punjab.
SIR,
I have the honor to submit, for the information of the Hon'ble the Lieutenant-Governor, my
Report on Vaccine Operations for the year 1879-80.
2. The aggregate number of operations performed throughout the Province during the year was
381,166, showing a decrease of 100,756 from the number vaccinated in the previous year. This
decrease, the causes of which will hereafter be adverted to, has taken place in the out-turn of work
effected by all establishments. There were 347,987 primary vaccinations recorded as successful, against
435,649 of the previous year; and the percentage of success, classing the unknown with the unsuccessful
cases in the calculation, was 9417. The number of re-vaccinations was 11,674, against 16,503 of the
previous year, the ratio of success recorded being 44.74 per cent., as compared with 60 per cent. But,
as has been mentioned in the Report for previous year, much difficulty is not unfrequently experienced
in accurately distinguishing the features of success and non-success in many re-vaccination cases, and
the figures of the vaccinators are, as a rule, far from reliable in this respect. The aggregate cost
amounted to Rs. 56,332-4-10, as compared with Rs. 66,453-6-9 in the preceding year,—a decrease of
Rs. 10,121-1-11; and each successful case cost annas 2 and pies 6.62, as against annas 2 and pies 4.7 of
previous year.
3. The Provincial Establishment was composed as follows :—
1 Superintendent-General.
1 Native Deputy Superintendent.
32 Native Superintendents.
132 Vaccinators.
The office of Superintendent of Vaccination has remained vacant since April, when Dr. Massy
was transferred from the Vaccination Department to the Civil Surgeoncy of Murree.
4. During the hot season operations were carried on in 14 Hill States, in the districts of
Kángra, Simla, and Hazára, and in the hilly tracts of Rawalpindi; and during the cold season, 21
districts in the plains were visited, of which 10 together with a Native State were, as regards area,
completely, and 11 partly, overtaken.
5. The result of the year's operations performed by the Provincial Establishment, compared
with that of 1878-79, is given in the following statement:—
Statement No. I.
Year.
1878-79
1879-80
Number of Native
Superintendents.
33
32
Number of Vacci-
nators.
135
132
Total number of per-
sons vaccinated.
391,529
311,123
PRIMARY VACCINATION.
Total number.
380,118
301,835
Total successful.
359,893
288,141
Percentage of
successful cases,
including those
unknown with
the total.
94.67
95.46
Average number
done by each
vaccinator.
2,900.21
2,356.99
Cost of each success-
ful case.
Rs.
0
0
As
2
2
. P.
6.7
7.43
Although the
area
covered by the vaccinators is
greater than that accomplished
in any previous year, yet, as
a glance at the accompanying
statement shows, a decrease
of 80,406 in the total number
vaccinated, and of 543.22 in
the average number vacci-
nated by each vaccinator, as
compared with 1878-79, has,
during the year under report,
taken place. The probability
of a large decrease occurring
was foreseen in the early part
of the working season; and having been brought about by causes which were, for the most part, of an