REPORT ON THE
STATEMENT NO. VII.
E NT E R I C F E VE R .
REMITTENT FEVER.
1871. 1 8 7 2 . 1 8 7 3 . 1 8 7 4 . 1 8 7 5 . 1 8 7 6 . 1 8 7 7 .
1878.1879. 1 8 8 0 . 1 8 8 1 . 1 8 8 2 . 1 8 8 3 . 1 8 7 1 .
1 8 7 2 . 1 8 7 3 . 1 8 7 4 . 1875. 1876. 1 8 7 7 .
1 8 7 8 . 1879. 1880. 1 8 8 1 . 1 8 8 2 .
1 8 8 3 .
Medical college hospital ... ... 3 5 9 5 6 6 1 ... 2
. . ...
. . .
42 80 86 58 125 95 124 152 164 180 196 150 119
Presidency general hospital
15 17 6 11 12 17 18 9 11 6 11 12 1 45 19 22 10 48 27 39 38 34 49 32 40 45
Howrah hospital ... ... ... ... ... .
.. ..
.
... . . 4 2 4 2 3 3 ... 16 28 88 146 172 210 359 393 228 107 77 73 30
Mayo hospital
... ...
...
... 6 2 1 5 6 ... . ... . . 1 ... ... 6 15 13 22 35 36 174 224 130 208 221 143 212
Campbell hospital ... ... ... 94 86 28 2 ... . . . . . . ... ... . . . ... ... ... 181 239 212 495 466 438 432 466 333 354 309 301 322
Police hospital
4
1 2 8 1 1 . . 1 4 1 1
2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 ...
. . . 11 29 28 58 41 52
Total
. . . 116
1 2 6 5 3 3 0
23 43 34
13
18 8 15 15 1 290 381 421 731 847 806 1,128 1,284 918 926 893 748 780
16. Enteric fever.—This record is continued as the name is given by
some practitioners to diseases in which officers of Indian experience recognised
only the more severe and continued forms of miasmatic fevers, long familiar to
them, and not traceable to the specified causes assigned to enteric fever.
Typhoid fever is an impressive name. It is the more necessary therefore that
due caution should be used in employing it. The name is freely used in
Calcutta, and some native practitioners are in the habit of speaking of thousands
of cases in the town, but the health officer does not support their diagnosis. The
experience of the hospitals, where cases are carefully examined both clini-
cally and pathologically, affords data for sound judgment. I have, on a pre-
vious occasion, indicated variation of nomenclature as the true origin of past
variations in the records of this disease. Cases have been received annually into
the general hospital, but in 1882 Dr. Birch expressed some doubts as to their
specific character. In 1883 a single case is returned from the general hospital,
the only representative of the specific fever in the presidency hospitals in 1883.
17. Dental practice.—The number of dental operations performed in 1883
did not differ materially from that of the previous year:—
1883.
1882.
Extractions
... ... ...
1,402
1,310
Stoppings
...
...
77
169
Miscellaneous
... ...
297
339
Total
...
1,776
1,818
18. Obstetric practice.—The Eden hospital was worked throughout the
year. Its practice was more closely restricted to cases of obstetric kind than
it had been after its first opening in 1882. There were treated 875 Europeans
and 425 natives in 1883, a total number of 1,300; of this number 34 died.
There were 2 deaths from septic disease contracted outside and 1 from
disease in the hospital. During this year the upper and middle floors only
of the building were occupied. It has lately become necessary to open the
ground floor to patients. There were 314 labours conducted—a considerable
increase on the preceding years. Among these 12 deaths occurred. Of children
there were treated 252 Europeans with 10 deaths, and 33 natives with 1 death,
that of a child moribund on admission.
19.
Having regard to the fatal prevalence of infant tetanus in the native
town, the consequence of privation of air, which forms a part of native
midwifery, it is worthy of note that among 139 new-born native infants in the
Eden hospital not a single case of this affection was presented.
20. It was reported last year that the attempt to carry on the nursing
of this hospital on the basis originally proposed had not been successful, and
that a new scheme was introduced with the sanction of Government. The
change was ef f ect ual ; t her e wer e no def i ci enci es ascr i babl e t o syst em i n 1883.
Numbers increased, however, and on the opening of the ground-floor-ward