NOTE

                                                                    ON

                                      VACCINATION

                                                            IN THE

                              CENTRAL PROVINCES

                                 FOR THE SEASON

                                            1896-97.

Owing (a) to scarcity and widespread distress among the general popula-
tion, (b) to the falling off in the number of births, and (c) to the emigration of the
people from their villages while in search of employment or the means of sub-
sistence, the operations of the Vaccination Department have been considerably
restricted during the past as compared with former seasons. Besides a number of
Native Superintendents of Vaccination and a considerable proportion of the
Vaccination Establishment were employed on famine, cholera and plague duty
during the season, and such causes tended to limit the field of operations. It
may be here stated, also, that the returns from the Feudatory States of Bamra and
Sonepur were not received in time to be incorporated in the general returns.

Establishment.

2. The strength of the Provincial and Feudatory
State Vaccination Establishments is noted below : —

Although the number of Provincial Vaccinators was the same in both years,
the district figures show that there was one less in the Seoni District, and an
additional Vaccinator was employed in the Ambagarh Zamindari of the Chanda
District. The particulars of vaccination in the Bastar State are included for the
first time in the returns, and 11 Vaccinators were entertained by the State autho-
rities. The non-receipt of the returns from the Bamra and Sonepur States has
led to the exclusion of the eight Vaccinators of those States from this year's
statement.

General operations.

3. The following table shows the total number of operations performed by
Vaccinators in the Province and Feudatory States during
the past two years :—

                        * Excluding Sonepur and Bamra, and including Bastar State returns.

4. The total number of operations performed in 1896-97 in the Provinces
and Feudatory States was 397,036, or 52,684 less than in the previous year.