Proccedings of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab in the Home—(Medical and Sanitary)
Department, No. 2001 S., dated 31st July 1914.
READ—
Report on Vaccination in the Punjab for the year 1913-14, by Major E. L. Perry, D.P.H.,
I.M.S., Officiating Sanitary Commissioner, Punjab.
REMARKS.—The present report deals with the progress of vaccination
during the triennium 1911-12 to 1913-14, while the statements refer only to the
last year. The vaccination staff has been considerably increased during this
period, and, in spite of the separation of Delhi from the Punjab, now numbers
273 as against 265 at the end of last triennium. An Additional Deputy
Sanitary Commissioner has also been appointed.
2. The total number of operations performed during the triennium
exceeds the number of the previous triennium by 708, 96. The increase is
largely due to the severe epidemic of small-pox which occurred in 1912-13
and resulted in a substantial rise in the number of re-vaccinations in that
year.
The figures of primary vaccination, however, also show a considerable
increase, having risen from 1,677,392 for the years 1908-09 to 1910-11 to
2,083,877 in the period under report.
3. The continued high percentage of success is also gratifying, but there
is still room for considerable improvement in the results of the vaccination of
children under one year of age. In municipal towns to which the Vaccination
Act applies the percentage on the total number of children available for
vaccination amounted in 1913-14 to 78 only whilst in other towns it only
reached 69. For the triennium under review the figures are 82 and 68 per cent.,
respectively. These figures are an improvement on those of the last triennium,
but they can hardly be regarded as satisfactory, and indicate that even where
the Act is in force its provisions are not being fully complied with. The
Lieutenant-Governor hopes that municipal authorities will realize more fully
their responsibilities in this matter, and by co-operation with the vaccination
staff, will ensure the proper performance of the duties of the latter.
4. The results of the work of the special staff are not all that could be
desired. The excess of re-vaccinations over primary vaccinations for the trien-
nium and in particular in the last year raises a presumption that the same
children are being vaccinated several times unnecessarily, whilst newly-born
children are neglected. This is probably due to the difficulty of efficient super-
vision and inspection of the work in Simla Hill States where most of the
operations of the special staff are carried on, and measures should be taken by
the Sanitary Commissioner to remedy the present state of affairs.
5. The working of the Punjab Vaccine Institute continues to be satis-
factory. An estimate for additions and improvements to the buildings has
recently been sanctioned. His Honour is inclined to agree with the Sanitary
Commissioner that all vaccinators should be trained at the Institute, and that
such a course would lead to an improvement in the performance of vaccination
operations and in their results. He will be glad to consider specific proposals
in this connection, and on the suggestion that the preparation of the report and
statistics should be entrusted to the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner.
ORDER.—Ordered that the above remarks be published in the Punjab
Government Gazette, and be communicated to the Sanitary Commissioner,
Punjab, for information and guidance, and also that they be forwarded with
the report, as usual to the Government of India, Department of Education.
By order of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab.
R. A. MANT,
Financial Secretary to Government, Punjab.
1946 CS -265. -11-8-14—SGPP Lahore.