2
With regard to the experiment of employing female vaccinators for
purdah women, accepted by Government, no great progress has been made.
Four of the seven towns listed for the experiment have agreed to employ a
female vaccinator but the local authorities are apathetic on the subject and
women willing to be trained for the work cannot be found. I doubt the
possibility of ever obtaining a staff of female vaccinators corresponding to the
existing male staff. It has now been arranged to train all lady health
visitors as vaccinators and for years to come reliance will have to be placed
on them and lady doctors willing to undertake the work. In Simla the lady
health visitor has proved invaluable as a vaccinator and a detector of con-
cealed cases of smallpox.
The average number of vaccinators employed during the triennium
under report was 310 as against 312 in the preceding period.
The number of superintendents and vaccinators of the special staff,
viz., 2 and 20 respectively, remained the same as last year.
Cost of the De-
partment.
State-
ment No. II.
4. The total cost of the department during each year of the triennium
is given below : —
1928-24
1924-25
1925-26
Rs.
2,51,054-10-5.
2,64,198-10-3.
2,76,234-5-5.
The figures show an increase in the expenditure of Rs. 12,036 during
the year 1925-26 as compared with last year. The increase is due to the
grade promotions of the members of the vaccination staff, to the pay of the
additional vaccinators entertained by the local bodies, and to the extra
expenditure under the head " Contingencies " on account of the cost of
lymph, etc.
The total expenditure of the department for the triennium under
review was Rs. 7,91,488 as compared with Rs. 7,18,260 in the preceding
triennial period, the increase of Rs. 73,228 being chiefly due to the reasons
stated above.
Cost of each success-
ful case. Statement
No. II.
5. During 1925.26 the cost per successful vaccination was Re. 0-4-9
against Re. 0-5-4 in 1924-25 and Re. 0-5-2 in 1923-24. The decrease in the
cost as compared with last year was due to the great increase in the number
of successful vaccinations performed during the year.
The districts in
which the cost per successful case was the highest were Ambala (Re. 0-5-6),
Simla (Re. 0-5-2), Hissar (Re. 0-5-0), Jhelum (Re. 0-4-8), Karnal (Re. 0-4-5),
Jullundur (Re. 0-4-4), Gujranwala (Re. 0-4-3), Ludhiana and Amritsar
(Re. 0-4-1) and Rohtak (Re. 0-4-0). The lowest cost was returned by
Muzaffargarh (Re. 0-2-1), Kangra (Re. 0-2-4), Multan (Re. 0-2-5), and
Mianwali (Re. 0-2-6).
The average cost of each successful operation during the triennium
was Re. 0-5-1 as compared with Re. 0-5-2 in the preceding triennial
period.
Total
operations
done by all establish-
ment.
Statement
No. I.
6. The total number of operations performed by all establishment
during the triennial period 1923-26 amounted to
3,119,150 against
2,671,255 in 1920-23, showing an increase of 166,935 in primary and
280,960 in re-vaccinations. The total number of operations performed
by all establishment during the year 1925-26 was 1,217,375 showing an
increase of 258,863 as compared with the previous year. The increase
in primary and re-vaccinations was 76,522 and 182,341 respectively.
The increase in both primary and re-vaccinations which occurred in 1925-26
is partly due to the measures taken on the lines indicated in last year's report
to increase the efficiency and thoroughness of vaccination operations, and
partly due to the prevalence of smallpox during the year. The co-operation
of the officers of the education department in the matter of re-vaccination
in schools helped to swell the number of vaccinations. In spite of the
prevalence of plague during the vaccination season of 1925-26 there was a
considerable increase in vaccination, a fact which reflects credit on all
concerned.