NOTES ON VACCINATION IN ASSAM FOR THE YEAR
1914-15.
1. Introductory.—I was in charge of the Department throughout the year. The
office of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner was held by Major T. C. McCombie
Young, I.M.S., throughout the year, except for the period from 20th June 1914 to 18th
September 1914 when Captain J. F. James, I.M.S., officiated for him.
Vaccination was carried on as usual throughout the province among a total
population of 7,059,857 according to the Census of 1911.
2. Vaccination agencies.—Among the general population, vaccination was per-
formed by 328 departmental vaccinators, and among the labour force of the tea estates
by the garden Medical Officers ; railway employés were vaccinated by the railway
Medical Officers, and in jails the vaccination was performed by the Sub-Assistant
Surgeons in medical charge. The average number of persons vaccinated by each
vaccinator was 907 during the year under report, as compared with 914 in 1913-14.
3. Total number of operations —The total number of operations performed during
the year by all agencies was 320,016, of which 230,292 were primary operations and
39,724 were re-vaccinations, as compared with 336,649 in 1913-14, of which 301,241
were primary operations and 35,408 were re-vaccinations, showing a decrease of 16,633
operations. The decrease in the number of primary operations is regrettable. Possibly
some part of it is more apparent than real and is due to the efforts which are being
made to obtain more accurate returns from vaccinators, but a certain amount of it
must be accepted as real and may be partly due to the relaxation in supervision
caused by the withdrawal of the permanent Civil Surgeons for military duty and partly
to the lack of attention which the work receives from many Civil Surgeons. Varia-
tions in the district returns are criticised in section 8.
The total performed by the different agencies at work is made up of the following
items:—
297,61-7 by departmental vaccinators,
2,209 by the staff of dispensaries,
18,944 by tea-garden agencies,
1,041 by jail agencies, and
175 by railway Medical Officers.
4. Deaths from small-pox.—The ratio of deaths from small-pox during the year
1914 was .37 per mille of population, compared with .40 in 1913. The death-rate
from small-pox was highest in the district of Kamrup where it was 2.03. The death-
rate from small-pox in this district is higher than it has been since 1909-10, although
the number of successful operations since that period shows an increase, and our vital
statistics are not sufficiently accurate to enable us to decide whether the reason, is an
increase in the population and a resultant higher proportion of young persons of a
susceptible age. In any case it is clear that greater activity in vaccination is required
in this district. No doubt the large proportion of " Mahapurushias " in the popula-
tion of the Barpeta subdivision tends to make the number of deaths from small-pox
in Kamrup compare unfavourably with those in other districts. In Goalpara vaccina-
tion was carried on during the off-season to deal with a small-pox outbreak and extra
vaccinators were entertained for this purpose. The diagram showing death-rates from
small-pox and the protection afforded by successful vaccination is attached.
5. Dispensary vaccination.—Two thousand two hundred and nine vaccination
operations were done by the dispensary staff, of which 1,580 were primary and 629
were re-vaccinations, as compared with 1,324 operations in 1913-14 with 1,005 primary
and 319 re-vaccinations. These figures show an increase of 885 operations, viz.,
575 primary and 310 re-vaccinations, over those of the previous year.
6. Percentage of successful operations.—The percentage of success of the vaccina¬
lim operations performed by all establishments combined was 96.22 for primary
vaccinations and 68.69 for re-vaccinations, as compared with 98.41 and 78.15,
respectively, in 1913-14.
The successful percentages in primary vaccinations and re-vaccinations in the case
of vaccinators were 96.29 and 68.00, respectively, against 98.47 and 78.11, respectively,
in 1913-14 ; in the case of dispensary staff 92.14 and 58.76, respectively, against 93.26
and 88.47, respectively, in 1913-14 ; and in the case of other agencies 95.47 and 79.80,
respectively, against 97.17 and 71.89, respectively, in 1913-14.