33
CALCUTTA MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS.
This table also conveys a fair idea of the amount of venereal disease there is amongst
the registered prostitutes, and warns us of the extent to which it would spread should any
relaxation of the provisions of the Contagious Disease Act ever be permitted. Indeed it
forcibly impresses on all concerned the necessity which still exists for working the Act with
further stringency if possible.
5. The number of women who prefer to be examined at their homes rather than to Homo
attend at the depôts for this purpose has ranged between 50 and 57 during the year, against examinations.
39 to 51 in 1874.
6. The attendance of unregistered women at the lock hospital for treatment for venereal Attendance of
unregistered
diseases has not been so large as in previous years, but a large number of women have women
artificially caused ulcers on the genitals, simulating chancre, in order to be admitted into
hospital and thus obtain treatment for other diseases, such as dysentery, &c., for which
per se they could not be received into a lock hospital.
7. The following table shows the principal statistical events in the hospital for 1875 :-- Hospital statistics.
R A C E .
R e m a i n e d .
A d m i t t e d .
T o t a l .
D i s c h a r g e d .
I m p r i s o n e d
A b s c o n d e d
L i b e r n t e d . D i e d .
R e m a i n i n g .
Chri st i ans
38
40
36
4
N a t i v e s 255 2, 610 2, 865 2, 518
22
11
1
18 295
Total
257 2, 648 2,905 2, 554
22
11
1
18 299
The admissions, 2,648, exceeded those in 1874 by 621, and the deaths were in excess
by 11
8. The following venereal diseases gave, in order of frequency, the greatest number of Venereal diseases
;
uenc.f ;
admissions during the year, viz. 1 st, simple ulcer, 1,330 ; 2nd, soft chancre, 673 ; 3rd, freq
gonorrhœa, 339 ; 4th, vaginitis, 93 ; 5th, hard chancre, 54 ; 6 th, mucous patches, 29 ; 7th,
suppurating bubo, 20 ; 8th, secondary syphilis, 14; and 9th, indurated bubo, 12.
The following table shows the rate per cent. of the total treated of some of these
diseases to the grand total treated, and the rates per cent. are compared with those of 1874
as far as possible :—
YEARS.
RATE PER CENT. OF TREATED TO THE TOTAL NUMBER TREATED.
Simple u l c e r .
Soft
chancre. Gonorrhœa' Hard
chancre. Suppurating bubo. Secondary syphilis. Indurated bubo Sloughing sores.
1 8 7 4 41. 39
34. 54
4. 93
5. 13
1. 28
1. 03
0 . 3 4
1 8 7 5 47. 12
25. 81
11. 91
3. 40
1. 06
0. 68
0' 51
0 . 4 1
It is thus seen that while there is an increase in the percentage of simple ulcers (see
paragraph 6) and gonorrhœa, there is a marked decrease in that of hard (or infecting)
and soft chancre.
9. The great prevalence of gonorrhœa in the lock hospital patients was apparently
due to the extra precautions taken to check the disease amongst the European troops,
as Dr. Payne states that during 1875 there seemed to be a growing prevalence of gonorrhoea
among the European troops in garrison, so much so that, contrary to usual practice, he had
all women in the military sections who were found to be suffering from doubtful vaginal
discharges detained in hospital.
He also writes :—" The general fact remains undisturbed that the serious diseases
continue to decrease, and that the degree of diminution in the several classes advances
exactly in the order of their severity, reaching its highest point in the constitutional and
t ransmissible syphilis."
10.There were 452 cases of sickness treated, and amongst them but one case of
cholera, which was cured.
Eighteen patients died in hospital from the following diseases in order of frequency, viz.
1st, dysentery, 10 deaths ; 2nd, phthisis, 5 ; 3rd, congestion of the spleen, 2 ; 4th, diarrhœa, 1.
Regarding these fatal cases Dr. Payne reports as follows :—" The fatal cases are nearly
all those of women who have lived with their disease outside until they had lost all hope of
getting well, and then, having no venereal affection to entitle them to admission, have made
Sickness and
mortality.