4

Inspection of vaccinations.

9. The above table shows the number of vaccinations actually inspected by the
Civil Surgeons, hospital assistants, &c., and native in-
spectors. Out of a total of 206,331 vaccinations in the
province, 101,197 cases, or more than half, were actually inspected, against 187,110 and
98,612 respectively in the previous year. Of the 101,197 cases verified, 92,978, or
91.88 per cent., were found successful as compared with 89,575, or 90.83 per cent., in
the preceding year. The Civil Surgeon of the Goálpára district inspected 3,591 cases—
the largest number so inspected by any Civil Surgeon in the province—which is very
creditable to that officer (Surgeon-Captain Dobson). The inspection work was very
unsatisfactorily performed in the districts of Kámrúp and in the Khási and Jaintia Hills,
and only 36 operations in the former and 50 in the latter were inspected by the Civil
Surgeons. It is reported that Surgeon-Captain Macleod, who was in charge of the
Kámrúp district until the 14th January 1892, practically did no inspection work, or he left
no record for his successor, if he really did inspect any vaccinations. In the case of the Civil
Surgeon of the Khási and Jaintia Hills, there is the excuse of inability to leave the sadr
station from sickness amongst the civil population in Shillong ; but I think that in the winter
the Civil Surgeon should try to effect a much larger number of vaccinations than at present,
as the number of officials at Shillong, and consequently of sickness amonst them, is
then at a minimum; but as he cannot inspect to any large extent, I am now proposing
that an inspector of vaccination should be appointed to insure supervision and control
over the work of the district vaccinators, which, I think, is now almost nil, and is very
much required. The total inspections by the Civil Surgeons of the province decreased
from 17,273 in 1890-91 to 12,432 in 1891-92 ; and the percentage of successful cases
so inspected by those officers also fell from 91.81 to 86.85. The number of inspections
made by the native inspectors increased from 77,241 to 84,819, and the percentages
of successful cases also rose from 90.92 to 92.45. There has been an increase generally
except in the Kámrúp and Darrang districts, in the order given, and the decrease in Kámrúp
is remarkably high, showing great neglect of this duty. It must be remembered that the
inactivity of Surgeon-Captain Macleod, and afterwards his sickness, as well as Dr. Dobson
not being able to do full justice to the two districts of Goálpára and Kámrúp when he had
charge of both, had everything to say to this falling off. We may anticipate very
different and much more satisfactory results with Surgeon-Major Macnamara as Civil
Surgeon of the district.

                                                                                                                                               TABLE No. 3.

                                                                            Showing separately the vaccination work among the garden population performed by Government
                                                                                                                          and tea garden agencies during 1891-92.