8 REPORT ON THE
9. Particular diseases. —Regarding particular diseases, I may mention a
marked reduction of cholera, corresponding with that of the town. The disease
was fatal in an ordinary proportion of cases on the whole. The variation
in this respect followed a well known law. Where cases were few and scattered
mortality was high; where they were more numerous the disease was less
fatal in proportion. Of small-pox 97 cases were received into hospital and
26 died. There were 114 deaths recorded in the town, and if these bore the
same proportion to the entire numbers of cases of diseases, they would repre
sent nearly 400 such cases in the town alone. Inasmuch as the admissions to
the Sealdah Hospital include cases from the Suburbs and Howrah, it would seem
that a very small proportion of the town cases were received into hospital,
which is unsatisfactory. Malarious fevers in the Medical College Hospital were,
both in quantity and quality, much the same as in 1879. In the General Hos
pital they were reduced to less than half the number and the mortality was
very small. In the Mayo Hospital there was an increase both in number and
severity. At the Campbell Hospital number and fatality were both reduced.
The influence of reduced accommodation affected the numbers without
doubt. At the Police Hospital numbers fell and mortality was nominal. At
Howrah there was no great difference of quantity, but mortality fell largely
among Europeans and rose among Natives. On the whole, there was consider
able reduction both in prevalence and fatality of malarious fever.
Respiratory affections presented no great variations in 1880. They were
somewhat less fatal than before. Dysentery and diarrhœa showed jointly some
reduction both of prevalence and death-rate It is under these headings that
the majority of hopeless cases are admitted into hospital. For child-birth
women were received in greater number, and the deaths were fewer than in
the previous year.
10. Moribund persons .—The following statement has been prepared in the
manner and for the reasons stated in my last report:—
STATEMENT No. VI.
Campbell
Hospital.
Medical
College
Hospital. Howrah
Hospital. Mayo
Hospital.
Police
Hospital. TOTAL.
Total Native deaths, excluding cholera
1,542
390
257
244
22
2,455
Moribund persons
ditto
196
90
45
53
1
385
Difference
1 , 3 4 6
300
212
191
21
2,070
True Native death-rate per mille, excluding cholera and
moribund cases.
204.09 149.55
243.39
98.4
7.7
146.6
The total number of moribund persons admitted into hospital did not
differ materially from that of 1879. The true Native death-rate in hospital
is seen to have been reduced everywhere except at the Medical College and
Mayo Hospitals, whose admissions were affected by restriction on transfers
to Sealdah, not in respect of moribund persons perhaps, but of other hopeless
cases.
11. Operative Surgery.—In my last report I gave some reasons for not
including the table of operations in the body of the report, and proceeded to
consider the point connected with them, which alone I supposed to be of
public interest—viz. hospitalism, or that fatal condition which has brought
operative surgery into prominence of late years; and I adduced the particular
evidence which minute enquiry had brought forth during the year to show
that the opinions derived from such tables as that which I ventured to disparage,
and which had nearly led to the destruction of a fine building and enormous
outlay of public money, were without foundation. I produce below the table
of operations in amplified form, so as to show all that was done of important
operative surgery in each institution in 1880.