68
As far as the poorer classes are concerned inoculation will not succeed as
they all live a hand to mouth existence and being inoculated means that they
cannot work and so have to rest content with empty stomachs. This matter has
been already fully dealt with in former reports.
As far as the well-to-do are concerned, the only ones that get inoculated
with few exceptions are those people who have business in or are going to reside
in the Hyderabad State. In this state people are subjected to various restrictions,
etc., if not inoculated and consequently they get inoculated to save themselves a lot
of worry and trouble.
As regards the future of inoculation I have one or two suggestions to make.
One is that the people as regards the poorer classes should be treated a great
deal more liberally than at present is the case. I would advocate reverting to the
old system of giving annas four per person inoculated, but this payment should be
restricted to the poorer classes who undoubtedly suffer great hardship from being
inoculated.
I would not, however, follow the old system of having fixed inoculation
stations for the poorer classes ; but would suggest that when any inoculations are
done they should be done there and then in the dwellings of the people
inoculated.
Similar to the way inoculation was carried out amongst the badly infected
houses in Kumbharwada last year by Lieut. H. E. Browne A. D. 0., and Doctor
Cama, S. M. 0. In this way not only would the people living in all badly
infected chawls, etc., be rendered, a comparatively speaking immune to plague,
but at the same time a large waste of money would not occur as the landlords would
be asked to assist the plague authorities. Of course, there is one thing that
would have to be guarded against, and that is, that all concerned in the work
should be plainly made to understand that inoculation should not be indiscriminate,
as it apparently was last year, and that only people living actually in badly infect-
ed localities should be pressed as far as possible to submit themselves to
inoculation.
Another proposal I have to make is similar to what I made in one of my
weekly reports. The benefits of inoculation being undoubtedly very great for a
limited period, I wish to suggest that in places like Bombay where evacuation
cannot be carried out properly or effectively, inoculation should be made compulsory
on all residents of the place. As the periodical interval of time at which plague
recurs is known, being about thirteen months, I consider every body should be
obliged to get themselves inoculated about six weeks previous to the expected
outbreak of plague in epidemic form. Travellers and others who are only remain-
ing for a very short period of time would not be required to be inoculated. No
one should be obliged to be inoculated with plague prophylactic more than once a
year. I think this combined with thorough disinfection and, if possible, evacuation
on as large a scale as possible, would make a most distinct and marked impression
on the plague mortality in future epidemics.
This year I have been informed by Dr. A. G. Viegas, J. P., and Khan Sahib
Bhicaji Ruttonji Rana, his secretary, who has invariably assisted him that a certain
number of poor people came and asked to be inoculated, but when they were told
that they would not get annas four for each person inoculated they went away
without being inoculated. I think this shows that a good many of the poorer
classes would come forward if they were paid four annas for being inoculated.