24
DARJEELING CIRCLE.
I have been able to see, the consequence in a few years would be that, vaccination would
be entirely rejected by the people as unprotective against small-pox, and a general return
to inoculation take place.
Results.
Their return shews 4474 operations or 745 per man with a percentage of success of
90.55. It is however untrustworthy. Only 75 persons under one year were operated on.
From this it is evident that nearly all the young children in the villages; in fact those at
a most suitable age for vaccination were passed over. This is a marked rejection of the
teaching of the vaccine department.
The population of this district is 1,501,924, giving a birth rate at 30 per mile or more
than 45,000 annually. The reported cases of vaccination were 15,218 for last season, so that
a third of the birth-rate only is overtaken.
A municipal vaccinator was entertained for the city but up to the beginning of March
his operations were few in number.
Rungpore
Locality vaccinated
6. Rungpore.—In
November ground was taken up in extension of former year's
work in Nishetgunge thannah, but on account of small-pox spreading rapidly, the whole
gang by the middle of the month was transferred to Nagaessane thannah to the affected
villages on the bank of the Durla. The men were placed at regular distances and marched
northwards without passing over a single village. An irregularly quadrilateral area lying
between the Durla and Berhampooter including all the churs of the latter river for a dis-
tance of about thirteen miles was gone over. It is difficult to calculate the exact number of
square miles from the very winding nature of the Durla, but it may be roughly given at
eighty. No vaccination had never previously been practised to any extent in this neighbour-
hood, so that the result was very gratifying. The country lying between the Teesta and
Berhmapooter which is intersected by the Durla, has been the scene of operations of numer-
ous Bard inoculators who reside in the Borobaree thannah, and who have always shown such
a determined opposition to the introduction of vaccination.
Till it is vaccinated these men create a constant danger to all Eastern Bengal on account
of the great traffic on the Berhmapooter, Teesta, and Durla in jute, tobacco, mustard,
and rice.
Small-pox.
An account of small-pox in Gobindgunge which spread from Raigunge in Dinagepore,
the place deserted by the Dinagepore Rajbaree gang, one vaccinator had to be sent there
in February, a second early in March, and finally the whole gang as a serious epidemic
threatened. It was checked by the end of March, and has since been entirely suppressed.
There were two converted inoculators working in Gobindgunge for December and January,
but one performed only eighty and the other sixty operations up to the end of January
which did little to stop small-pox.
There has been a large decrease in the number of operations in this district but not
from any neglect of duty on the part of the native superintendent or his subordinates.
Number of opera-
tions in Rungpore.
Rungpore district was almost free of small-pox in the hot season and rains of 1872, so
that no systematic work was being carried on from May to November. The total number
of persons vaccinated was 22,759, all with the exception of 1216, in the cold season of
1872-73.
This gives an average of 3793 persons vaccinated by each of the gang which is a very
satisfactory result.
Population.
The population of the district is 2,150,179 giving a birth rate of 64,500 annually, so
that the present vaccine establishment overtakes rather more than a third.
No vaccinator was entertained by the municipality of Rungpore during the last cold
season.
Bograh.
Localities vaccina-
ted.
7. Bograh.—To complete the protection of thannah Bograh was the task set for the
establishment for the working season of 1872-73. This which was a matter of great diffi-
culty from the villages left being situated in two different directions, breaking up the gang
into two and separating the men to too great distances for constant inspection, and from a
number of the villages being more in which in previous years vaccination had been abso-
lutely rejected. All opposition I am glad to say was overcome and a large area consisting
of all the Bograh thannah jurisdiction with outpost Gobail, and part of outpost Seebgunge
has now been successfully vaccinated.