MILITARY LOCK HOSPITALS, MADRAS PRESIDENCY.
5
that the statistics of Belgaum have been included only in the figures for 1886,
1887, and 1888.
6. Admissions into lock hospitals for primary syphilis. —The statistics under
this heading for the past five years are given in the following table :—
Years.
Total admissions,
exclusive of
"remained."
Cases, exclusive
of "remained,"
of primary
syphilis.
Ratio of cases
of primary
syphilis per
1,000 of total
admissions.
1884 ...
...
...
2,756
663
240.56
1885 ...
...
...
1,733
432
249.27
1886 ...
...
...
2,309
594
257.25
1887 ...
...
...
2,387
314
131.54
1888 ...
...
...
1,481
83
56.04
The decrease in the number of cases of primary syphilis in 1887 was, in a great
measure, owing to Medical officers having been instructed not to return, as primary
syphilis, certain cases which were previously returned under that denomination.
The total admissions and the actual number of cases of primary syphilis are of
course decreased by the abolition of inspection ; but the ratio of the latter to the
former, which, at first sight, would not appear likely to be influenced by this cause,
is also considerably diminished thereby. The reason of this probably is, that
gonorrhœa and other affections, whose existence becomes manifest to the diseased
person without inspection, were admitted to hospital, while cases of the more
serious disease, the existence of which is not so obvious without skilled inspection,
were not detected and subjected to treatment in the same proportion as in the
admission rates for former years.
7. Results of abolition of inspection. —Before passing to the consideration of
effects of lock hospitals on disease among European troops in these eight stations
for the year, it may be well to indicate the effect of abolition of compulsory
inspection on the treatment of venereal disease among prostitutes who were, at the
beginning of the year, registered. As before stated, no well marked period can
be defined when compulsory admissions to hospital ceased, and purely voluntary
admissions began ; the transition from one system to the other was in practice
gradual, although theoretically compulsion was abolished at the end of July. To
illustrate the gradual result of the change, the following table showing the principal
points for all eight hospitals in the presidency totalled together is given :—
Months.
Average
number of
prostitutes on
the register.
Average number
of prostitutes
attending the
periodical
examinations.
Number
reported for
non-attend-
ance .
Number of
prostitutesf o u n d
dis-
eased at
inspections.
Average
daily sick.
January
...
...
...
. . .
688.62
488.76
82
179
208.13
February
...
... ...
. . .
692.23
484.22
100
158
200.85
March
. . .
. . .
. . .
707.61
490.41
82
163
182.27
April
. . .
. . .
. . .
673.55
481.27
95
156
161.55
May
...
. . .
. . .
668.20
455.10
92
183
179.02
June
. . .
. . .
. . .
674.05
471.61
102
150
167.04
July
. . .
. . .
. . .
674.96
457.51
110
170
161.67
August
...
...
. . .
545.88
401.44
120
102
145.17
September
...
...
...
. . .
. . .
73.50 *
. . .
11*
37.74*
October
...
...
...
...
. . .
47.40*
. . .
20*
11.20*
November
...
...
...
. . .
. . .
47.75*
...
17*
9.46*
December
...
...
...
...
. . .
33.60*
...
9*
16.83 *
Total ...
5,325.10
3,932.57
783
1,318
1,480.93
* Voluntary.
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