Annual public health report of the Province of Bihar; and Annual vaccination report.

  • Bihar (India). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1937]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual public health report of the Province of Bihar; and Annual vaccination report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    to be done before it can be hoped to make vaccination universally acceptable. It is expected that all the district boards of the province will soon take over direct control] of this very important public health measure and provide facilities for vaccination and re-vaccination of the entire population. The vaccine lymph manufactured at the Vaccine Depot, Natnkum is supplied throughout the province free of cost. The lymph before being issued is throughly tested with regard to its potency and purity. The lymph pro¬ duced is considered to be of high standard. This is borne out by the high percentage of successes obtained with its use in primary vaccination which has invariably been found to be 98 to 99 per cent. 1,369,719 vaccination operations were performed in the province during the year under report. Out of these 990,780 were cases of primary and 378,969 were those of re-vaccination. Although vaccination confers sure protection against small-pox infection and about two lakhs of persons get vaccinated every year, the province conti¬ nues to register large number of deaths from this disease and the incidence tends to show sharp rises at times. This is due to the fact that a large number of the children born every year escape even primary vaccination and the need for re-vaccination is not yet fully appreciated by a large number of the general population. It is, therefore, considered that so long.not only primary vaccina¬ tion but also periodical re-vaccination of the whole population is not made compulsory, it will not be possible to ensure complete disappearance of the incidence of this disease. 6. Plague.—'There were 1,470 deaths from plague in the province during the year as compared with 1,245 in the previous year. The death-rate remained the same as in the last year. Although incidence of plague has greatly declined during the last decade in the province there are still certain isolated foci in the district of Champaran, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and North Monghyr where plague starts almost every year with the approach of the winter season, reaches its maximum intensity during February and March and declines with the advent of the summer months. The district of Saran with a total of 1,098 deaths recorded the highest death-rate (0’4) followed by Muzaffarpur (0.09) and Champaran (0.02). In the district of Champaran plague was responsible for 51 deaths during the year and of these 15 'deaths occurred in Pettiah town. Infection of plague was'imported to this town for the first time in January 1934 and the disease has become endemic since then. The disease prevailed in this town in epidemic form almost throughout the year, except in the months of August and October. Bettiah being an important grain centre of the district, offers a favourable field for a high rat population. Steps have been taken during the last four years to give extensive anti-plague inoculations to the residents of this town. A Government epidemic doctor was detailed on plague duty in Bettiah town and the district board staff carried out anti-plague measure in the areas under the police-stations of Bettiah and Sikarpur. In the district of Saran the epidemic in January continued from the previous year. The disease subsided in May but broke out again in epidemic form by'the third week of September. 105 villages were affected under four police-stations, namely, Gopalganj, Mirganj, Siwan and Mairwan. Over and above the three assistant health officers the district beard appointed two tem¬ porary epidemic doctors to do epidemic duty. A total of 1,098 deaths were recorded from plague in the district as against 1,884 of the previous year and 32,626 persons received anti-plague inoculations. In Muzaffarpur district plague as usual was confined to the endemic areas of the Hajipur subdivision and a portion of the Sadar subdivision with a mortality rate of ’07 as against 06 of the previous year. Mahua thana where a mortality rate of O’S vas registered was most severely affected. Ami- plague inoculations 6,076 in number as against 3.780 of the previous year were performed by the dispensary and the pub Be health doctors of the district board.