3
The percentage of success in re-vaccinations recorded by vaccinators was
74.99, while Assistant Superintendents and Civil Surgeons could only find 58.18
and 50.01, respectively. As the estimate of the success of a re-vaccination
depends very much on the interval that has elapsed between the re-vaccination and
the inspection, the results recorded by the vaccinators may be regarded as fairly
satisfactory, though in some districts there is still room for improvement.
Inspection by the Sanitary-
Commissioner.
11. I inspected 3,298 children who had been vaccinated primarily during
the working season of 1908-09. My locum tenens,
Lieutenant-Colonel Crofts, I. M. S., also saw a portion of
the work of this season, but no notes of his inspections have been left on record.
Of those I saw, 1.9 per cent had six good marks, 0.4 per cent had five, 76.5 per
cent had four, 11.1 per cent had three, and 8.3 per cent had two marks, while 1.2
per cent had only one mark and in 0.5 per cent there was failure. The protec-
tion afforded in 1908-09 was therefore in my opinion 'good' in 78.8 per cent,
'fair' in 11.1 per cent, 'poor' in 8.3 per cent, and 'bad' in 1.7 per cent. I
tabulate the corresponding rates per cent of protection found by me in the three
previous years:—
Good
Fair
Poor
Bad
1905-06.
Per cent.
51.5
24.9
19.9
37
1906-07.
Per cent.
54.8
19.1
21.6
4S
1907-08.
Per cent.
747
10.3
12.3
27
I think I may safely claim that the quality of the work done by the Central
Provinces Vaccination Department, judged by the percentages of the number of
marks found successful, has steadily improved in the past four working seasons.
Cultivation of lymph.
12. Three thousand four hundred and sixty-nine calves were vaccinated
during the year, of which 3,078 were used as vaccinifers
against 3,877 and 3,327, respectively, in the preceding
year, and the cost incurred was Rs. 1,065-12-1 against Rs. 1,945-3-3. In some
of the head-quarters towns, buildings have not as yet been erected for housing
calves and cultivating lymph.
Kind of lymph used and the
success obtained therefrom.
13. 90.89 per cent of the total operations were done with glycerinated lymph,
0.04 per cent with the lanolinated and 0.03 per cent with
fresh calf lymph. The percentage of success obtained
from them was 93.11, 76.41 and 99.36, respectively. Arm-to-arm vaccination
is still occasionally practised in Chanda, Raipur, Drug and Buldana. I hope
the Civil Surgeons of these districts will discontinue the practice.
Vaccination in Municipal
Towns and Vaccination Act.
14. Of the 24,897 children under one year of age available for vaccination
in the Municipal Towns, 22,831 or 91.70 per cent were
successfully vaccinated. In some instances the numbers
vaccinated exceed the number " available," which is due chiefly, I think, to the
way in which the figure " available" is arrived at, viz., by deducting from the
births in the year the deaths under 12 months of age. This makes no allowance
for infants dying under 12 months of age who had already undergone vaccination.
Ample evidence of this was found during my inspections. It would be better to
substitute for " available" the term " liable to vaccination " and to define this
term to mean the difference between the births in a year and the deaths below the
age of 3 months, infants on attaining 3 months becoming " liable to vaccination."
The provisions of the Vaccination Act were not extended to any town during the
past year.
Mortality from small-pox.
15. The mortality from small-pox was 0.69 per mille of population, or 0.25
more than in the preceding year: and the disease was
very severe in the districts of the Chhattisgarh Division.
The proportion of persons protected by vaccination was 43.41 against 41.32
in 1907-08. The usual diagram is appended.
P. A. WEIR, COL., M. B., I. M. S.,
Sanitary Commissioner,
Central Provinces and Berar.
The 31st May 1909.