2
Primary
vaccinations by
other agencies.
5. 163 primary operations were done by other agencies; of these, 59
were done by the Railway Medical staff, 56 by the
Mission in Raipur District and 48 by the Sub-Assistant-
Surgeon in charge of Damoh Jail Hospital.
Re-vaccination.
6. Re-vaccinations seem to be steadily gaining ground. 81,871 were done
against 76,429 in 1914-15—an increase of 5,442. The
special staff did 81,058, almost all districts showing an
increase, except Narsinghpur, Amraoti and Seoni, which show a large decline.
Plague accounts for the falling off in Amraoti and Seoni, while in Narsinghpur
the discontinuance of re-vaccinating mothers every time they bring a child for
vaccination is said to have resulted in a fall in re-vaccinations. This system
of re-vaccinating mothers seems to be followed in other districts also, such as
Seoni, Balaghat, &c., but it is a questionable practice and might act
deleteriously on primary vaccinations, which is of the greatest importance.
Cost of the Department—
Statement II.
7. The total cost of the Department was Rs. 1,21,858-7-3, or an increase
of Rs. 26,254-2-6 over the previous year. The
establishment charges and travelling allowance rose by
Rs. 21,156, as the higher rates of pay of the staff and the horse allowance
allowed to the Assistant Superintendents of Vaccination were drawn throughout
the year instead of for half the year as in 1914-15. The increase under contin-
gencies is due to the introduction of the village vaccination registers.
The cost per successful case has in consequence also risen from Re. 0-2-6
to Re. 0-3-3 and to Re. 0-3-7, if the expenditure at the Central Vaccine Depôt
were taken into account. This expenditure compares unfavourably with
other Provinces in India, such as Behar and Orissa, where the average cost
was only Re. 0-1-5 during the year, North-West Frontier Province, where it was
Re. 0-1-10, United Provinces, Re. 0-2-0, Bengal, Re. 0-2-1 and Punjab and
Assam, Re. 0-3-1 : but is very low when compared with Bombay and Burma,
where the cost ranged from Re. 0-8-8 to Re. 0-9-1 per case.
Preparation of lymph.
8. As the special buildings for locating the Central Vaccine Depôt were
not ready, lymph could not be prepared on a large scale
for supply to all districts. Many districts in consequence
prepared their own lymph. 1,755 calves were vaccinated, of which 1,582 proved
successful, the expenditure incurred being Rs. 2,079-11 -6. An unnecessary large
number of calves are still vaccinated in many places, and there seems no way
of stopping this till the Depôt buildings are ready.
At present the Depôt supplies lymph to 7 districts in all—5 in the Nagpur
Division and to Jubbulpore and Nimar. The lymph is said to be of good
quality, and the following is a note on the working of the Institute drawn up by the
Superintendent in charge :—
"Military Assistant Surgeon Richardson held charge of the Depôt till the 19th
February 1916, when he proceeded on leave and subsequently reverted to Military
duty, and since then his Assistant, Sub-Assistant Surgeon Maroti Ramkrishna, has been
conducting the work.
" Seven districts in all, of which two—Jubbulpore and Nimar—were newly taken up,
were supplied with lymph prepared at the Depôt. 89 calves were vaccinated, of which 87
proved successful and yielded 3,108.19 grams (13,268 c.c.) of pulp, which was equivalent to
265,360 doses of vaccine. Of this quantity, 227,660 doses (11,383 c.c.) were issued to
vaccinators and others who applied for them.
" Mostly bovine calves, which were purchased at the weekly and other bazaars
round about Nagpur town at Rs. 8 each, were used this year, but 3 buffalo calves and
an ass also were used for maintaining and strengthening the potency of the lymph.
The average yield was 35.65 grams per bovine calf and 48.8 per buffalo calf. The
post-operated calves were sold back at Rs. 6 each.
" The expenditure incurred in working the Depôt was Rs. 11,404-3-8, of which
Rs. 5,130-2-11 was spent on salaries of establishment. Contingencies amounted to
Rs. 6,247-10-3, of which the largest amount (Rs. 1,319) was spent on the purchase of
ice required for cold storage. The average cost of preparation was 7 pies per dose.
" The reports received from vaccinators show that the results were successful in
98 per cent of the children primarily vaccinated, the insertion success (i. e., those in
whom all the insertions made had well developed) being 93, and that in re-vaccinations
64 per cent of the cases were successful, the insertion success being 50.
" The Training Class for 4th grade Vaccinators was conducted by Sub-Assistant
Surgeon Maroti Ramkrishna, who receives a. remuneration of Rs. 10 per vaccinator
from District Funds. Two classes, each lasting for about six months, were held, and
in all 30 men were trained and sent out during the year; the 2 Assistant Superintendents
of Vaccination of Jubbulpore District also received some practical training at the Depôt. "