Annual Reports.—
Annual Report on Vaccination in
the Bombay Presidency for the
year 1895-96.
General Department.
Bombay Castle,
No. 4097
17th September 1896.
Letter from the Sanitary Commissioner for the Government of Bombay, No. 1892-B.,
dated the 15th June 1896—
Submitting the Annual Report on Vaccination in the Bombay Presidency for the year
1895-96.
RESOLUTION.—The total cost of the Vaccination Department rose from
Rs. 2,76,130 in 1894-95 to Rs. 2,81,408 in 1895-96. Of this sum, Rs. 1,12,202
were provided from Provincial Revenues, and the remainder was contri-
buted in various proportions by Municipalities, Local Boards and Native States.
The word " Imperial" should have been struck out of the financial table in
paragraph 46 of the Report.
2. The number of primary vaccinations reported during the year was
732,648, or 20,292 more than those reported in 1894-95. The number of
re-vaccinations was 78,156 or 16,986 more than in the previous year. The increase
in primary vaccinations was distributed over all portions of the Presidency
except the Central Registration District. In this District there was a consider-
able decrease, which, however, is satisfactorily explained as due to the fact that
the extensive operations of previous years have left few besides newly-born
infants to protect. The increase in re-vaccinations was most marked in the
Presidency Circle. The percentages of success in vaccinations (93.23) and
re-vaccinations (57.88) did not differ materially from those of the previous year.
In connexion with these figures it is observed that the number of children under
one year reported to have been successfully vaccinated in the City of Bombay,
and in the districts of Ahmedabad and Shikárpur exceeded (in Bombay very
considerably) the number of children of that age which, according to the
birth and death registers, should have been in existence in those places. The
Sanitary Commissioner considers that this fact may be explained by immigra-
tion into Bombay and by the inaccuracy of the birth registers there and elsewhere.
3. On the whole these results are satisfactory, and it is also satisfactory to
observe that the Inspecting Staff displayed considerable activity, no less than 1,450
villages having been visited by Deputy Sanitary Commissioners and 12,384 by
Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents. The greater portion of the vaccination
work was tested by " calling names from the registers," a system which secures
the inspection of all vaccinated children in the villages visited, except children
whose absence is accounted for. The efficient working of this system depends
in a great measure on the methods adopted for testing the sufficiency of the
explanations offered for the absence of children. The absentees from the inspec-
tions of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioners were apparently more numerous
than those from the inspections made by inferior officers, and were specially
numerous in Sind. It is presumed that all possible enquiry is made for the
purpose of ascertaining the true reasons for such defaults; and of course in cases
of reported deaths it is possible to refer to the death register. The Sanitary
Commissioner should be asked whether there would be any difficulty in classify-
ing the alleged causes for the absence of vaccinated children from inspections.
4. It appears that only 7,070 of the 410,645 cases returned as vaccinated
(i.e., 1.72 per cent.) were registered by the vaccinators as " unsuccessful and
doubtful," whereas the Inspectors found 8,078 of the much smaller number exa-
mined by them (i.e., 2.76 per cent.) to be unsuccessful and 57,512 " bad " though