6
means universal, and the cause of the trouble was not obvious, as the origin and history
of every specimen of vaccine are carefully recorded and samples of it are tested on
children before despatch to the plains. Every precaution which can be ? is taken to
maintain the quality of the vaccine; but the only effective way of ensuring that the
vaccine is always of uniform character is to store it for a considerable time in ice, to
destroy the extraneous organisms.
12. Cost of the Department.
The cost of the Department for the year was Rs. 1,16,702, of which Rs. 93,068
was paid from Provincial Funds, Rs. 16,762 from District and Local Boards funds,
Rs. 5,418 from Municipal funds and Rs. 1,454 by native states.
13. General.
(a) Railway vaccination.—Reports were received from the Eastern Bengal State
Railway and the Assam-Bengal Railway. 525 operations were performed.
(b) Tea-gardens.—14,056 operations were performed on tea gardens; but this does
not represent the whole, as reports were not received from some of the gardens in Sylhet
and Cachar. The delays in the submission of these returns by the Civil Surgeons were
formerly a frequent cause of complaint. In Government Notification No. 7204M, of
16th September 1910, it has been prescribed that they shall be submitted monthly ; so
the complaint should not be so frequent in future. The Civil Surgeon of Nowgong notices
the assistance he has received from Dr. Dodds Price.
(c) Jails and Police.—6,658 operations were reported as having been performed
in Jails and Police Cantonments. Municipal Vaccinators were formerly in the habit of vac-
cinating in the Jails, and of adding the number to their municipal records. The practice
has been discontinued and all operations in Jails and Police lines are now recorded in a
special register kept by the Sub-Assistant Surgeon in charge.
E. C. HARE, Lt.-Col., I.M.S.,
Sanitary Commissioner, Eastern Bengal and Assam.