10th triennial report of vaccination in Bengal.

Bengal (India)

Date:: [1917]

Credit: 10th triennial report of vaccination in Bengal. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$the chief carriers of malaria are believed to be stream-breeding mosquitoes which differ in their habits from the common carriers of malaria met with in deltaic areas. The two schemes have been specially drawn up with the object of ascertaining the best method of dealing with these mosquitoes and determining the minimum area round a village that must be controlled in order to bring about a reduction of malaria. At Meenglass the hill streams, in which a dangerous species ofanopheline mosquito breeds, will be put underground, the water being carried off' in subsoil drains when the flow becomes sluggish, while the storm flow is allowed to pass over them in t lie usual stream channels. The Singaram scheme consists of two parts, viz., (1) a thorough surface drainage of the area to be experimented on, and (2) the periodical flushing of a small river in which mil aria-carrying mosquitoes of a vicious character breed. The object of the first part is to drain away po >ls and depressions in which malaria¬ carrying mosquitoes breed : that of the second is to substitute a series of flushes in the river instead of a sluggish flow, for it has been ascertained that mosquitoes breed along its edge when the flow is gentle, but when the river is in flood their eggs and larvae are carried away. It is therefore pio- posed to construct a weir with sluices so arranged that, when the sluices are closed, a head of water will be accumulated behind the weir, and this will be periodically discharged so as to 'flush the bed of the rivulet. It is hoped that three of the schemes will be completed during the current year ; and the Governor in Council looks forward to the results of the experi- \ ments with much interest. 8. Stegomyia Enquiry.—A conference was convened by Government in November 1916 to consider the measures necessary to establish homogeneous sanitary cmtrol throughout the port of Calcutta, with special reference to the question of taking measures to prevent the introduction of yellow fever through the medium of the stegomyia mosquito in consequence of the opening of the Panama Canal. 9. Cholera.—0 wing to the absence of virulent epidemics, which is attributed to copious and seasonable rainfall, the number of deaths from cholera fell from 130,679, which is the highest figure as yet recorded in rdie Presidency, to 70,836, which is the minimum on record. Steps were taken by District Boards to cope with cholera outbreaks by the disinfection of wells and the appointment of itinerant doctors ; but the Sanitary Commissioner is of opinion that much cannot be expected till all the District Boards possess a proper sanitary organization. The question of the reorganization of the sanitary staff employed by these bodies is now under co isideration. 10. S^ltali-pox.—It is satisfactory to find that the steady rise in mortality from small-pox, which culminated in 32,785 deaths in 1915, has been checked, the number of deaths reported in 1916 falling to 13,890. The highest district death-rate was returned by Bankura, viz., 1‘32 per mille. T1 ie Civil Surgeon attributes the outbreak in that district to the fact that most of the sources of water-supply in the villages had dried up owing to the failure of the rains in the preceding year. Calcutta, which suffered from a virulent outbreak of the disease in 1915. was almost immune, only 58 deaths being returned. 11. Vaccination,—The total number of persons returned as having been vaccinated during the year 1916-17 was 1,598,428 as against 1,635,621 during the previous year. The decrease is said to be due chiefly to the stricter supervision-exercised by inspectors and sub-inspectors of vaccination over the work of the vaccinators and by Deputy Sanitary Commissioners over the work of both, the effect being to check the temptation to submit false figures. Free vaccination at the cost of the District Boards was introduced as an experimental measure in one thana of the Faridpur district, and was continued with satisfactory results in the 24-Parganas and the Sadar subdivision of Bakarganj. A large number of persons were operated on who had not been vaccinated before and vaccination was introduced in villages which had hitherto objected to it. In the towns 642 per mille of the surviving infant population was reported to be protected ; but the Sanitary Commissioner$

10th triennial report of vaccination in Bengal.

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