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Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors of Vaccination, inspection of less than 30 and
50 per cent. respectively of the operations in their jurisdiction is inexcusable.
General remarks.
19. Although vaccination is making fair progress in Bengal, it must
be admitted that there is still much opposition to
it in many districts, particularly in Bihar, Puri and
the Tributary States. In Puri specially, and in some of the Bihar districts, the
people are generally averse to vaccination, and look upon inoculation with
favour. In these places local influence and tact have not had the anticipated
result of stamping out the long standing and deep rooted prejudices of an
ignorant population. The only effective remedy in these backward districts,
is, I am afraid, the introduction of the Compulsory Vaccination Act. Another
great hindrance to the progress of vaccination is the difficulty experienced
by the licensed vaccinators in some districts in realizing their fees. They
naturally expect to get remuneration for their work, and when they find that
large arrears of fees have accumulated, they leave work and move about exact-
ing their dues which they are often unable to realize. Many trained good
vaccinators have thus thrown up their appointments in disgust, and it has been
difficult to replace them. Unless something is done to remove this difficulty,
it will not be possible to attract good men into the service. The success of
vaccination depends on the (1) appointment of trained men as vaccinators, (2)
the supply of pure lymph, and (3) the supervision of the work of the operating
staff. In Bengal the Civil Surgeon, who is the chief supervising officer,
cannot be expected to devote much time to inspection of vaccination work,
owing to his heavy and numerous duties at head-quarters. In the absence
therefore of Deputy Sanitary Commissioners the important work of supervision,
which exercises much influence in the minds of the people and the vaccination
staff generally, has suffered considerably. The subordinate vaccination staff
are generally men of poor education, and it is too much to expect them to
exercise much influence on the people or on the vaccination staff. With these
drawbacks to contend against, the progress of vaccination must be slow. I am
also very strongly of opinion that something should be done to improve the
disgracefully backward condition of vaccination in Puri and the Tributary
States of Orissa and Chota Nagpur. From enquiries which I caused to
be made on this subject, I have come to the conclusion that the best way of
carrying on vaccination in Puri at present, is to appoint a certain number of
paid trained Hindu vaccinators of high caste at the expense of the District
Board. In previous years the District Board paid for vaccination, and the
result was satisfactory. Considering the present condition of Puri, it is desir-
able to revert to the paid system in that district at the expense of the District
Board. In the Tributary States the vaccinators are worthless, ill-trained,
low-caste men, who are discrediting the cause of vaccination. They should
be replaced by trained operators. It has been suggested that a school for
the training of vaccinators should be started at Cuttack from whence vacci-
nators may be recruited for Orissa and the Tributary States. This proposal
seems to me to be reasonable, and I commend it to the favourable consideration
of Government. It is also necessary to increase the number of supervising
officers in these States. For the purpose of effective supervision, it is desirable
to appoint an officer of, at least, the Assistant Surgeon class to each of the
Tributary States of Orissa and Chota Nagpur. I shall submit this proposal
to Government in a separate communication if the Government are prepared
to take up the matter.
It has been stated in the opening paragraph of this report that the work
of this Department has been carried on under extraordinary difficulties during
the greater part of the past three years owing to the Department being deprived
of Deputy Sanitary Commissioners. This not only handicapped the work in
the districts, but increased it greatly at head-quarters, where the ordinary
work of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner's offices had for the most part
to be done by my office in addition to our own work. I am greatly indebted to
Mr. A. A. Price, my Personal Assistant, for the assistance he has afforded me
in carrying on the work of the Department with all his additional work, and
also to Babu Bireswa Dé, the Head Clerk of the Vaccination Branch of the
office, on whom most of the office work has fallen.
The usual statistical returns are appended to this report.
CALCUTTA,
The 8th August 1899.
H. J. DYSON, F.R.C.S., Major,
Sanitary Commissioner for Bengal.