27
The decrease in all these cases is attributed to the prevalence of influenza
during the year under report. Malabar is the only district which shows increase
in every direction and this was due to a very large number of re-vaccinations and
adult vaccinations performed during the last quarter consequent on the outbreak
of smallpox epidemic in Ponnani taluk.
(iv) The subjoined table shows the total successful vaccinations by all
agencies and the percentage of successful cases including re-vaccinations :—
Establishment.
(1)
Local Fund... ...
Municipal... ...
Dispensaries... ...
Medical subordinates ...
Total ...
Number of successful vaccinations.
1917-18.
Primary.
(2)
396,927
53,372
189
88
450,776
Re-vaccination.
(3)
40,565
23,317
88
3,744
67,714
1918-19.
Primary.
(4)
307,001
51,352
150
194
358,697
Re-vaccination.
(5)
37,067
26,380
64
4,164
67,675
Total of success
ful vaccinations.
1917-18.
(6)
437,492
76,880
277
3,832
518,490
1918-19.
(7)
344,068
77,732
214
4,358
426,372
Ratio per cent of
successful cases.
1917-18.
Primary.
(8)
81.7
90.2
98.9
49.1
82.6
Re-vaccination.
(9)
65.2
68.7
87.1
71.1
66.7
1918-19.
Primary.
(10)
79.8
90.7
99.3
85.3
79.5
Re-vaccination.
(11)
56.5
74.1
94.1
69.8
63.1
Ratio per cent
of total suc-
cessful cases.
1917-18.
(12)
79.7
82.4
94.8
70.4
80.1
1918-19.
(13)
74.8
84.3
97.7
70.4
76.3
The percentage of success both under primary vaccination and re-vaccination
shows a marked fall. The total fall is 3.8 per cent when compared with
1917-18 and the fall in the percentage of success under primary vaccination
including secondary operations is 3.1.
Though the tri-monthly supply of lymph as provided for this year was
expected largely to contribute to a better quality of work as compared with the
previous year, the fall in the percentage of success noted has been brought about
by—
(1) the transfer of verification duties from the vaccinators to the Deputy
Inspectors and thereby reducing the chances of over-valuing the results of one's
own work,
(2) the generally poor work done by the new vaccinators including the first
class who were found to be deficient in practice during my district inspections
and whose further training had been recommended in my inspection notes.
(v) Infantile vaccination.—When compared with the previous year there
was a fall of 49,978 in the number of children successfully vaccinated under one
year of age. The following districts show improvement in infantile vaccination
as compared with the previous year:—Nilgiris (+ 5.6 per cent) and Madura
(+ 3.6 per cent). The districts which show marked decrease are Tanjore
(— 31.2 per cent), Rāmnād (— 26.8 per cent), and Tinnevelly (— 10.9 per cent)
and the decrease in all these cases is attributed to influenza. But the causes that
operated towards the general fall in the percentage of success in the total opera
tions, as explained in paragraph supra, also explain the reduction under this
head. Among municipalities there has been a general increase chiefly in Manga-
lore (+ 26.9 per cent),Cannanore + 25.2 per cent), Bodināyakkanūr (+ 23.0 per
cent), Karur (+ 20.4 per cent), Tiruvālūr (+ 17.8 per cent), Palghat (+ 15.6
per cent), Madura (+ 13.4 per cent), Palamcottah (+ 13.2 per cent) and Erode
(+ 12.7 per cent), while Cochin (— 25.0 per cent), Calicut (— 16.2 per cent),
Palni (—19.6 per cent) and Srīrangam (— 18.4 per cent) show marked decrease.
But as a result of my inspection which I did in 18 municipalities in my range
I am obliged to state that the municipal figures as a whole are not very reliable
as the vaccinators for want of proper and effective supervision had more often
than not vitiated their returns by incorrect and false entries as pointed out in my
inspection notes.