No.44/2729.
FROM
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL S. BROWNING SMITH, D.P.H., I.M.S.,
Officiating Sanitary Commissioners Punjab,
To
THE HON'BLE MR. J. P. THOMPSON, I.C.S.,
Revenue Secretary to Government, Punjab.
Dated Lahore, the 1st July 1913.
Administration.
SIR,
IN submitting herewith, for the information of His Honour the Lieut-
enant-Governor of the Punjab, the Annual Vaccination Statements for the
year 1912-13, I have the honour to state that Lieutenant-Colonel E. Wilkinson,
F.R.C.S., D.P.H., I.M S., held the office of Sanitary Commissioner, Punjab,
from the 1st April 1912 to the 12th February 1913, when he proceeded on
furlough. From February 13th to March 31st I held charge of the Depart-
ment. The appointment of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner, Punjab, was
held from the 1st to the 15th April by Major W. H C. Forster, I.M.S., in addi-
tion to his duties as Professor of Pathology at the Medical College, Lahore,
and from 16th April to 17th March by Captain H G. Stiles-Webb, I.M.S., after
which date the charge of the appointment was held by Captain R. T. Wells,
M.B., I.M.S., till the end of the vaccination season. Mr. H. C. Phillips, 3rd
Class Military Assistant Surgeon, held the appointment of Superintendent,
Punjab Vaccine Institute, throughout the year.
Strength of vac-
cination
establish-
ment.
Statement
No. II.
2. There were five Divisional Inspectors of Vaccination, 30 Superin-
tendents of Vaccination, the same numbers as last year, and 273 vaccinators
or five less than in the year preceding. The decrease in the number of vacci-
nators was due to the transfer of Delhi from the Punjab and to the reduction
of 10 additional vaccinators in Lahore who were entertained last year and
one in Hoshiarpur district. Extra vaccinators, however, had to be enter-
tained in the districts of Hissar, Kangra, Gujrat, Lyallpur and Jhang in con-
sequence of the spread of small-pox which prevailed in an epidemic form
during the year under review.
The cost of the
department.
State-
ment No. II.
3. The total cost of the department amounted to Rs. 1,25,812 or an
increase of Rs. 1,492 as compared with last year. The excess is chiefly under
the head of contingencies on account of increased demand for vaccine obtained
by local bodies on payment from the Punjab Vaccine Institute.
Cost per successful
case.
Statement
No. II.
4. The average cost of each successful operation performed during the
year was 2 annas and 4 pies as compared with 2 annas and 8 pies in the
previous year. If the amount of Rs. 18,363 on account of the cost of the
vaccine sold, which has been credited to Government, be deducted from the
total expenditure, the average cost would amount to 2 annas as against 2
annas and 4 pies in 1911-12. The decrease in the average cost of a success-
ful operation is due to the larger number of operations that have been per-
formed during the year under report.
Total number of
operations by all
establishments.
Statement No. I.
5. The amount of work done in 1912-13 was very satisfactory, the
total number of operations performed by all establishments amounting to
1,032,847, nearly 16 per cent. in excess of the figures for the previous year,
and 39 per cent. greater than the average of the previous quinquennial
period. This appreciable increase is manifestly due to the increased demand
for protection against small-pox which has been widely prevalent in the pro-
vince. The increase in small-pox was brought to the notice of all Civil
Surgeons, and the necessity for special attention to primary and revaccina¬
tion was urged to check the progress of the disease.
Of this total number, 710,994 were primary operations and 321,853
revaccinations compared with 701,700 and 190,589, respectively, in the previ-
ous year ; it will be noticed that the increase is principally in revaccination for
the increase in primary operations amounts to only 1.3 per cent. on the figures
for the previous year, while in the case of revaccination it amounts to nearly
69 per cent. ; this latter figure is of course exceptional, but it is very encourag-
ing, as it demonstrates that the value of this prophylactic measure is becoming
better known and appreciated by the people. The relatively small increase in