6th triennial report of vaccination in Bengal.

  • Bengal (India)
Date:
[1905]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: 6th triennial report of vaccination in Bengal. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    9/44 (page 3)
    Whilst it is impossible, within the scope of this report, to go into the causes why particular districts are forward or backward, a few instances may be taken. The old Bhojpuri kingdom, as a whole, is one of the most bitterly opposed to vaccination. Shahabad, parts, of Chapra, Ghazipur and Ballia in the United Provinces are all backward districts: on this account vaccination is only done with great difficulty. Unfortunately plague is now an additional diffiuity and has put back the work considerably this year. It is a mistake to compare Arrah with Patna and Gaya, which, as is well known, belonged to a distinct kingdom of Mogadh where vaccination does not meet with as much opposition. The Ferazie districts of Lower Bengal are probably the most difficult to vaccinate in the whole Province. The fact that Faridpur and Backergunge district figures are on the whole good is simply due to the exceptionally good work of the Inspectors and Civil Surgeons. Very nearly all the Sadar Subdivisions in Bihar are behind the other parts of the district; the reason is simply that the law is well known, vaccination is optional and opposition is strong. 5. During the year 1904-05, out of 2,678,559, the estimated number of , infants under one year available for vaccination, Protection afforded to infants. 1;029j548j that £Sj 384.36 per thousand were successfully vaccinated, against 359*66 of 1903-04 and 360*51 of 1902-03. This shows that some improvement is gradually beirig made. A very large majority of the people of Bengal object to have their infant children vaccinated and this, together with the fact that malaria is prevalent during the greater portion of the vaccination season in many parts of the Province, tends to lower the rate of infant protection. Improvement in this respect must be slow. The apathy of the people in the matter of infant vaccination is evident from the figures of Calcutta, the mokt advanced town of India, which show that only 90 per thousand of the infant population of that town was vaccinated during the past year. The above calculation, however, is based on the estimated birthrate of the Province. If the actual number of births of the town is taken into calculation, the ratio would come up to 255 per thousand only, but this even falls far short of what it should be. In 12 districts, viz., Ranchi 904, Palamau 775, Malda 768, Faridpur 744, Hazaribagh 682, Political States of Chota Nagpur 653, Bhagalpur 634, Purnea 634, Manbhum 625, Darjeeling 608, Sonthal Parganas 570 and Jalpuiguri 506, the protection was over 500 per mille, while in four districts only, viz., Balasore 199, Tributary States of Orissa 190, Tippera 186, and Puri 83, it was below 200 per mille. It is interesting to notice that in the districts of Midnapore, Cuttack and Noakhali, where the work as a whole has increased owing to the active help of the district authorities, the rate of infant protection has also increased from 186*10, 146*55 and 170*99 of 1903-04 to 424*07, 218*67 and 403*09. respectively, of 1904-05. There is also a marked improvement noticeable in the district of Faridpur where the rate of successful infant vaccination has increased from 595 of 1903-04 to 744 during the past year. Although I doubt the accuracy of the figures, still I think that some improvement is being made owing to the energy and exertions of the Civil Surgeon and the District Inspector of Vaccination. I mention the case of Faridpur to show svhat good can be done by [energetic Inspecting officers. Unfortunately among the subordinate vaccination inspecting staff we have only a very few good men who are really tactful and know how to advance the cause of vaccination. This, apart from local conditions, is also an important factor in determining the progress or retrogression of vaccination work in a district. The protection afforded to infants in municipalities is shown in Appendix VII attached to the report. It will be seen that 623 per mille of the surviving infant population was protected during the past year against 711 of 1903-04 and 723 of 1902-03. The average of the triennial period under review was 683 against 576 of 1899-1900 to 1901-02. The cause of the excess number of vaccination over the available population in some municipalities as shown in the statement is the same as explained in previous reports. The attention of Civil Surgeons has as usual been drawn to their responsibility in the matter of infant vaccination in towns where the protection is inadequate.