No. 4355—201., dated Nagpur, the 20th November 1876.
From—J. W. NEILL, Esq., Offg. Secretary to the Chief Commissioner
of the Central Provinces.
To—The Offg. Secretary to the Government of India, Home Department,
WITH reference to paragraph 8 of the Resolution of the Govern-
ment of India, Home Department, No. 1—136, dated 5th March 1875,
I am directed to forward the enclosed report hy the Sanitary Commis-
sioner, Central Provinces, regarding causation and distribution of
leprosy in these Provinces.
No. 1110, dated Nagpur, the llth November 1876.
From—Surgeon-Major S. C. TOWNSEND, Sanitary Commissioner, Central
Provinces.
To—The Secretary to the Chief Commissioner, Central Provinces.
REFERRING to the Resolution of Government in the Home Department
No. 1—136, dated 5th March 1875, forwarded under your endorsement
No. 1070—43, dated 27th idem, I have now the honour to submit a concise
summary of the information with respect to the causation and distribution of
leprosy furnished to this Office by the Civil Surgeons of the different districts,
as directed in the Chief Commissioner's circular No. 12, dated 12th April 1875.
The following figures, showing the number of lepers in the different Provinces,
have been extracted from the census reports of 1872. It is not probable that
these figures represent correctly the actual number of lepers in the different
Provinces—in fact, subsequent enquiries in many districts of these Provinces have
shown that the number of lepers enumerated in the census was far below the truth,
but it may, I think, be assumed that similar errors of enumeration occurred in the
other Provinces, and that the figures given fairly represent the comparative
prevalence of leprosy in different parts of India :
Number of lepers. Ratio per 100,000
of population.
Bombay
Oudh
Berar
Bengal
Punjab
Madras
North-Western Provinces
Central Provinces
18,856
7,831
1,432
38,129
10,989
13,944
10,099
2,807
71
69
65
63
62
45
32
30
These figures would show that leprosy is comparatively little prevalent in
these Provinces, but the truth is that it is very unequally distributed, being very
prevalent in some parts of the Province, almost absent from others.
From enquiries instituted in accordance with the instructions issued last year,
it would appear that the greatest number of lepers are found in the districts South
and East of the Satpuras and in Nimar. In Raipur Dr. Trimnell estimates that
there are about 1,000 lepers, or 120 in every 100,000 of the population. In
Betul there are 734, in Bhandara 740 lepers, or 150 and 130 in every 100,000 of
the population. In Nimar the census statements enumerate 194 lepers, or 90
in every 100,000 of population,
On the other hand, the Civil Surgeons of all the districts of the Satpuras
report that the number of cases that come under their notice is very few.
In Mandla only six cases had come under observation, and all of the sufferers
were pilgrims passing through the place to or from Jagganath.
The Civil Surgeon, Chindwara, reports that leprosy exists to a very small extent
in his district, and that in the course of his frequent tours on vaccination work he
has met with very few sufferers. He gives the details of ten cases which have come