Annual Reports. —
Annual Report on Vaccination in
the Bomaby Presidency for the
year 1903-04.
General Department.
No. 4803
Bombay Castle,
9th September 1904.
Letter from the Sanitary Commissioner for the Government of Bombay, No. 2118.B.,
dated the 2nd August 1904.
Memorandum from the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, No. S.B. — 2521,
dated the 4th August 1904.
Letter from the Sanitary Commissioner for the Government of Bombay, No. 2196-B.,
dated the 5th August 1904 —
Submitting the Annual Report on Vaccination for the year 1903-04.
Memorandum from the Sanitary Commissioner for the Government of Bombay,
No. 2197-B., dated the 5th August 1904.
Memorandum from the Surgeon General with the Government of Bombay, No. S.B.—2552,
dated the 10th August 1904 :—
"Submitted to Government in the General Department.
"2. As regards the remark made in paragraph 6 of the report, the undersigned
begs to observe that the frequent changes were chiefly due to the paucity of Medical
Officers and sickness. For instance during the year under report two officers, Major Arnim
and Captain Marjoribanks, I.M.S., proceeded to England on sick leave and Lieut.-
Colonel Channer, I.M.S., went home on urgent private affairs."
RESOLUTION.—The report for the year 1903-04 shows that there were
552,101 primary operations and 35,832 revaccinations performed against 537,744
and 41,141, respectively, in the previous year, being an increase of 14,357 or
2.67 per cent. in primary vaccination and a decrease of 5,309 or 12.90 per cent.
in revaccination. This result is very satisfactory considering that it was
achieved in spite of a severe plague epidemic and numerous changes in the
supervising staff.
2. The decrease under revaccination has been explained in the report.
The percentage of children successfully vaccinated compared with the available
number has risen from 71.85 to nearly 80 per cent. The fall in the Presidency
percentage in 1902-03 from 76.56 to 71.85 seems to have been due to the low
percentage in the Western Registration District where the effects of famine
and plague were very marked, and regular supervision was most interrupted.
In Bombay City plague has been continuous year after year and has seriously
interfered with the proportion of infants protected. The decline in the number
of vaccinations in Sind still continues. There is said to be considerable
opposition to vaccination, and births and deaths are notoriously badly recorded ;
moreover, the area is large and difficult to supervise. The Sanitary Com-
missioner should be requested to consider and offer recommendations for
improving the Sind returns. The effects of plague are slight in Sind compared
with parts of the Presidency where the heavy mortality among children and
parents, to which must be added much unrecorded sickness and homes deserted
for weeks together, necessarily influence the statistics, and add no small amount
to the ordinary difficulties with which the vaccinating staff have to contend.
3. The frequent changes in the staff of supervising officers referred to in
the report have been noted by Government, and the matter is under separate
consideration.
4. The present report is an intermediate one and covers four and a half
pages, instead of three pages, the limit fixed in paragraph 5 of Government Reso-
lution No. 7115, dated the 17th December 1901. Care should be taken to see
that the limit is not exceeded in future. Paragraphs 1 to 6 and 8 of the
present report are unnecessary, vide paragraph 2(1) and (2) of the Government
Resolution above referred to.
Genl 828