Annual report on the Medical Department / Sierra Leone.

  • Sierra Leone. Medical Department.
Date:
[1917]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Medical Department / Sierra Leone. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    57/70 (page 55)
    48. Soon after the inauguration of the above scheme His Excellency granted for a time the appointment of a Medical Officer for the supervision of the Vaccinators, and Dr. Mayhew, who was selected for this duty, rendered much valuable service. 49. Many of the District Commissioners have themselves learnt the art of vaccinating, and have in cases of emergency done useful work in preventing the spread of infection. 59. Apart from the Vaccinators who are confined to the Protectorate, there are three men appointed to the Colony, and these, while ordinarily employed in Freetown, are dispatched to places outside it when the disease appears, and they are also periodically sent on vaccination tours throughout the surrounding villages. 51. Much more interest has recently been taken in vaccinating young children, and this can best be done in the Protectorate or outside Freetown, where women give their children more readily for this purpose, knowing well the ravages made among them in the past by small-pox. 52. Isolation of small-pox cases, which occured in the Protectorate and some out of the way places in the Colony, was carried out in temporary huts set up well outside and to the leeward of the town or village where they appeared, the huts being burned after the cases were discharged. At other places in the Colony more substantial structures with mud or concrete floors were built, and for the temporary isolation of cases in Freetown and those which might occur in or near Cline Town or reach there by the railway, until such times as they could be removed to the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Kissy, well-designed, mosquito-proof frame buildings were erected, but, owing to the energy with which vaccination has been pushed the number of cases requiring isolation had rapidly diminished. For the transference of patients to hospital a newr type of fly and weather-proof hammock stretcher has been devised. 53. At various times the lymph supply ran so low that, but for our receiv¬ ing additional supplies from the French Government at Dakar, to whom and their Medical and Sanitary Staff we are deeply indebted, many of the vaccina¬ tions enumerated below could not have been performed. 54. The following vaccinations were performed :— 1915. 1916. 1917. Total number vaccinated ... 6,88U 87,705 105,988 „ ,, successful ... 4,976 71,744 68,763 55. The figures for 1916 and 1917 were inflated by returns from Medical Officers who performed a great number of vaccinations in both years, and as they are not now required to give so much of their time to the suppression of small-pox, owing to the large number of Vaccinators at work, it is unlikely that the year 1918 will show such high totals as the two previous years. Also in the year 1916, 87’7 per cent, of the vaccinations performed were afterwards inspected, whereas in 1917 only 73-5 per cent, were seen, this being due to the fact that in 3 916 Vaccination Centres attended by Medical Officers and Assistant Public Vaccinators were established in limited areas where compul¬ sory vaccination was carried out, and the vaccinated could return to these centres, whereas in 1917 the object aimed at was to have as many vaccina¬ tions performed as possible over a very large area. 56. Under a new Vaccination Ordinance which has been drafted it will be possible by Order of the Governor to have certain areas or certain people compulsorily vaccinated while promiscuous vaccination can be carried on elsewhere as is done at present.