2
Surgeon arranged the collection of children from neighbouring villages in convenient
centres where they were vaccinated under his personal supervision. At the close of
the vaccination season four refractory villages in this district, which had refused
vaccination for years, are reported to have been vaccinated through the influence of
the Deputy Commissioner. The increase in the district of Nowgong has been
maintained and the work of the last season shows an advance of 252 operations over
the record of the preceding year. In this district during the last 5 years the protected
ratio has risen from 27.9 in 1910-11 per 1,000 to 44.5 per 1,000 in 1915-16 and the
deaths from small-pox have fallen from 1,013 in 1910-11 to 55 in 1915-16. The
satisfactory result has been attained by the administrative ability of the Civil Surgeon
Lieutenant C. Bancroft, I.S.M.D., aided by official pressure tactfully exercised by the
Deputy Commissioner. The fall of 5,571 operations in the district of Kamrup is due
to a reduction in the staff of vaccinators. In this district both paid and licensed
vaccinators have been entertained. The Civil Surgeon finding the work of certain of
the licensed vaccinators to be unsatisfactory dismissed 14 of them. Seven paid
vaccinators were discharged for submitting false returns and some of them could not
be replaced. The returns of the year under report although smaller in total are
probably more accurate than those submitted in former years and the above
decrease is really an index of the attention given to district vaccination by Assistant
Surgeon Nalini Prasad Neogi, the Officiating Civil Surgeon. Nine thousand two
hundred and twenty Mahapurushias were vaccinated during the year, as compared
with 8,900 in the previous year. The decrease of 4,659 operations in the district of
Khasi and Jaintia Hills is not satisfactory. The decrease is reported to be due to the
grant of leave to one vaccinator, while another was unable to work for a month on
account of the prevalence of cholera in his circle, from which disease he subsequently
died. I do not consider this explanation to be satisfactory and the matter is receiving
departmental attention. The decrease of 1,591 operations in the district of Goalpara
is due to bad work by the Inspector and the Sub-Inspector of Vaccination. Both of
these have been reported to be lazy and disobedient by the Civil Surgeon and
suitable action is being taken. In Sylhet better work has been done in the super-
vision of district vaccination, large numbers of unprotected persons have been
vaccinated in newly constituted compulsory areas, while there has been a decrease in
the amount of travelling allowance drawn, and an increase in the amount of
inspection done by the inspecting staff. The work done by the vaccination staff in the
district of Lakhimpur shows a decrease of 3,693 operations as compared with that of the
preceding year. The decrease is stated to be due to the fact that a permanent
vaccinator was ill for two months in the vaccination season and could not do
any work, and two temporary paid vaccinators had to be dismissed on account of
their work being unsatisfactory. A decrease in the number of vaccination opera-
tions performed in the Lushai, Naga and Garo Hills districts shows that the
Officiating Civil Surgeons of these districts must give more attention to their district
vaccination than they have done. The Civil Surgeon, Lushai Hills, did not despatch
his Vaccination Report which should have reached this office on May 1st, until May
17th and it was received in Shillong on 24th May thereby entailing delay in the
submission of this report to Government. Departmental. action is being taken
to deal with this delay. The return for the North East Frontier district
where two temporary vaccinators were appointed last season, has not yet been
received.
9. Composition and strength of the inspecting staff.—There was no change during
the year in the strength of the cadre of the subordinate inspecting staff.
10. Verification by the inspecting staff.—During the year 7.32 and 7.93 per cent.
of the primary operations and revaccinations respectively, were inspected by Civil
Surgeons, as compared with 4.28 and 4.05, respectively, in 1914-15. The percentage
of inspections in the case of the subordinate inspecting staff was ,53.16 and 51.65,
respectively, against 51.66 and 41.30 respectively, in the preceding year. During the
year the tour diaries and travelling allowance bills of the inspecting staff in Sylhet,
Cachar and Kamrup have been forwarded to this office for scrutiny, with the result
that the departmental orders limiting their stay at headquarters and prescribing
the amount of work done by them, have been followed. In contrast with this I find
that in other districts these orders have been largely ignored, and consequently this
system of check will now be extended to all districts.
11. Vaccination in compulsory areas —During the year the Bengal vaccination
Act V of 1880 was extended to the towns of Karimganj, Sunamganj and Maulvi Bazar
and the Inperial Act, XIII of 1880, was extended to the town of Barpeta. In 17
compulsory areas, 3,716 births and 710 deaths among children under 1 year of age