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NOTES ON VACCINATION IN ASSAM FOR, THE YEAR 1926-27.
1. Introductory.—The charge of the Department was held throughout the year by
Major T. D. Murison, D.P.H., I.M.S., Dr. P. Gupta, D. P. H , filled the post of the
Assistant Director of Public Health.
2. Vaccination agencies.—Vaccination work in the plains districts was carried
out, as in previous years by vaccinators paid by Local Boards and Municipalities
and in the hill districts by vaccinators paid by Government. The total number of
vaccinators employed during the year was 438 as compared with 434 in 1925-26. Six,
five and four additional temporary vaccinators were employed during the year in the
Kamrup, Sylhet and Naga Hills districts, respectively ; in the first two districts to deal
with small-pox epidemics and in the last to extend vaccination operations to the areas
which have been added to the district. Each vaccinator performed on an average
1,290 operations during the year under report as against 1,013 in the preceding year.
The female vaccinator, appointed by the Karimganj Local Board, as an experi-
mental measure, performed only 611 operations during the year.
3. Total number of operations.— During the year under report 656,366 vaccina-
tion operations were performed, of which 388,061 were primary and 268,305 were
revaccination as detailed below:—
577,711
...
... operations by officers of the Vaccination Department.
7,140
...
... operations by officers of Dispensary Agencies.
65,626
...
... operations by officers of the tea-garden agencies.
4,611
...
... operations by officers of jail, mental, police and infectious
diseases hospital staff.
1.278
...
... operations by officers of Railway Agencies.
Altogether there was an increase of 155,015 operations, namely, 40,807 primary
and 114,208 revaccination as compared with the previous year. The prevalence of
small-pox in an epidemic form in certain districts accounts for the large increase in
the number of revaccination performed during the year.
4. Deaths from small-pox.—The total number of deaths from small-pox during
the year was 5,153 or .65 per mille of population, against .45 in the previous year.
The death-rate was the highest in the Sibsagar district (3.40) followed by Kamrup
(1.32) and Goalpara (.57). The Epidemic of small-pox which started in December
1924 in the Sibsagar district continued throughout the years 1925 and 1926 and is still
persisting. Two hunderd and fifty-eight villages were reported to have been infected
in 1925-26 and 309 in 1926-27. The Civil Surgeon is of the opinion that the actual
number of villages infected in those years was greater than the number stated above
Vaccinations and revaccinations were carried out in all villages from which reports of
small-pox were received. In each district there are certain sections of people such as
" Mohapurushias " who are opposed to vaccination. Outbreaks usually occur first
among these people and then spread to other parts of the district. Some of these
people are being vaccinated every year either by persuasion or by compulsion under
the regulations framed under the Epidemic Diseases Act. In villages where persuasion
fails, recourse has to be taken to these regulations and they are then declared as small-
pox infected. These special regulations which are of the greatest help have been
renewed and will have to be renewed year after year until opposition dies out. It is to
be hoped that with the spread of education, prejudice against vaccination will
gradually disappear. Some villages in the Garo Hills were infected and vaccinations
were performedto check the spread of the disease.
5. Dispensary vaccination.—Operations performed through the agency of dis-
pensaries numbered 7,140 against 5,447 in 1925-26, showing an increase of 1,693
operations. The Sub-Assistant Surgeons in charge of dispensaries in small-pox infected
areas performed as many vaccination as possible in order to check the spread of the
disease.