2
Patna division.
3. Vaccination in districts.—Of the three districts of the Patna
division, Patna and Gaya reported an
increase in the number of operations
performed (4,679) and (2,969) whilst Shahabad reported a decrease of over
19,000.
The state of vaccination work in Shahabad has been most unsatisfactory
for several years owing to an entire lack of discipline amongst vaccinators
and to constant friction between them and the inspecting staff.
Tirhut division.
The districts of Saran and Champaran recorded increases of 3,879 and
281 respectively, whereas Darbhanga
recorded a decrease of 2,810 and Muzaffar¬
pur a small decrease of 29.
Bhagalpur division.
All the districts of the Bhagalpur division recorded increases except
Monghyr in which a decrease of 9,248
was reported. Purnea district recorded
the highest increase in this division, viz., 8,951.
Orissa division.
With the exception of Cuttack and Puri, the three other districts of Orissa
recorded decreases in the number of
operations, the greatest decrease being in
Balasore (5,448). The districts of Cuttack and Puri recorded small increases
of 686 and 177, respectively.
Chota Nagpur division.
With the exception of Manbhum, there was a general rise in the
number of operations returned from the
districts of Chota Nagpur, the greatest
increase being in Singhbhum (7,415).
4. Vaccination in towns and compulsory areas.—Statement VII shows
that during the year, 13,804 children under one year of age, out of an avail-
able number of 31,871 or 43.31 percent. were successfully vaccinated.
The towns of Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga shows the smallest proportion
of work done, and the towns of Patna and Khagole also made unsatisfactory
returns.
5. Work done in the Native States under the supervision of the Political
Agent and Commissioner.—Vaccination work in the Orissa Feudatory States
has steadily developed during recent years under the direction and encourage-
ment of the Political Agent and Commissioner.
Both vaccination and to a large extent re-vaccination are practically
compulsory in the majority of these States.
During the year under report 197,162 primary operations and 332,195
re-vaccinations were performed as compared with 195,641 and 340,805
respectively, in the previous year.
6. Protection of infants.—During the year under report the number of
children under one year available for vaccination was 1,017,090 and the
number of successful operations was 351,444 equal to 346 per thousand against
375,127 or 362 per thousand successful operations out of 1,034,163 children
available during the previous year. The protection of infants in munici-
palities is separately shown in statement VII. It gives a ratio of 433 per
thousand of the surviving infant population as compared with 504 in the
previous year.
These figures are unsatisfactory inasmuch as they show that far more
than half of the total number of operations is performed on children over one
year of age. Civil Surgeons and Assistant Directors of Public Health are
unanimous in attributing the opposition to vaccination to be concerned more
with the age of the child, than with the operation itself, and, in view of
the strong popular prejudice which exists against the vaccination of infants
at an early age, I consider that it is desirable that the Vaccination Act should
be amended, so as to raise the age for compulsory vaccination to one year
instead of six months.