6

REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY

to represent the number of operations which would have been performed had
there been no cessation of vaccination during the hot weather, then it is estimated
that about 27,000 cases were successfully vaccinated this year which would have
been failures under the older régime. This estimate is almost certainly well
below the truth for, in the years before the hot weather cessation was introduced,
it was the custom to carry out the major part of the operations during the hot
season.

     Statement 5 (Chart II) shows the success rates obtained for primary vaccina-
tions by the different districts. The marked improvement recorded this year as the
result of the introduction of glycerine lymph is reflected in all the district
returns. Even the worst districts show an increased rate of success. The order
in which each district is placed however remains much the same. The least
successful districts with lanoline lymph remain so with the new glycerine lymph.
Only nine districts show a success rate of under 90 per cent, the lowest returns being
made by Vizagapatam (85.6), Kurnool (85.7), Gōdāvari (86.8) and Salem (87.3);
these rates are however considerably above those returned by the same districts last
year, which were 75.9, 71.1, 69.9 and 76.4, respectively. The present year's
results, so far as these districts are concerned, show much room for improvement
and it is to be hoped that the District Health Officers concerned will make strenuous
efforts to improve matters now that they are being supplied with a lymph which
is above suspicion. The best all round results have been obtained by the North
Arcot and Chittoor districts which have returned succes rates of 97.0 and 97.4
per cent with an insertion rate of 90.2 and 89.9, respectively. The Nilgiris
continue to show the highest success rate 98.5 per cent. South Kanara and the
Madras Corporation come next each with success rates, of 96.9 and insertion
rates of 88.7 and 87.9. The remaining districts take up an intermediate
position between the two extremes and call for no special mention. The District
Health Officers of the successful districts are to be congratulated on the great
improvement which has occurred in the vaccination results in their districts.

     (d) Re-vaccinations. —Statements 6 and 7 (Charts 1 and 2) show the results
obtained with re-vaccinations during the year. There has been a definite increase
in the number of re-vaccinations performed during the year when compared with
last year's figures. The number of operations is however ridiculously small
when the population of the Presidency is taken into account. The rates again
show a very definite increase over those of the previous year (success rate 42.6
and insertion rate 27.5). There is however much room for improvement and
greater care in operating is called for if the best results are to be obtained.

     (e) Work done by the Institute in the Saidapet range.—The Institute staff has
once more had the advantage of utilizing the Saidapet vaccination range for the
purpose of testing its lymphs. Although it has been recommended that this
range should be placed permanently at the disposal of the Institute for this work,
no decision on this point has yet been reached and the arrangement is a purely
temporary one which could be terminated at any time. It is of the greatest
importance that the Institute should have a test range placed permanently under
its control, this control to extend to the direction of the vaccination staff so that
the closest co-operation can be maintained with them.

     The work done in this range during the year has been—

       (1) The testing of the stock lymphs before issue.

       (2) The testing of experimental batches of lymphs purified by various
methods.

       (3) Tests of experimental lymphs prepared in various ways.

       (1) Tests with batches of stock lymph before issue.—3,412 children have been
vaccinated in this range during the course of these tests. Glycerine lymph was
the only type of lymph used.

   The results were as follows:—