BRIEF NOTES TO ACCOMPANY THE ANNUAL STATEMENTS
OF THE LUNATIC ASYLUM OF NAGPUR FOR
THE YEAR 1912.
STATEMENT I.
Admissions.
The year opened with 286 lunatics under confinement, viz., 230 males and
56 females.
There were 74 admissions including one
re-admission (57 males and 17 females) against 94 in
the previous year. Of the 74 admissions, 14 were criminal lunatics and the rest
non-criminal lunatics. The Nagpur district furnished the largest number (28) of
the admissions. The total number in the Asylum at the end of the year was 280
of which 76 are criminal lunatics.
Discharges.
2. The number discharged from the Asylum was 51 as compared with 52
in the previous year. 44 were discharged after recovery
against 39 in 1911. The number of males discharged
after recovery was 38 against 33 in 1911, and among the females the number
was 6 for this year and the previous year.
Sickness and mortality.
3. There is no separate statement to show the hospital figures, but the
Superintendent has furnished some of the principal
details. 169 lunatics were in hospital during the year, of
these 29, were discharged as cured, 104 were transferred to the infirm gang,
29 died, leaving a balance of 7 at the end of the year
The 29 deaths were
from dysentery (5), pulmonary tuberculosis (2), intestinal obstruction (1), valvue
lar disease of the heart (4), old age and general debility (6), asphyxia due to
epilepsy (5), exhaustion due to mania (3) and anorexia due to melancholia (3).
4. In the reports for 1910 and 1911 attention was drawn to the high mor-
tality supposed to be due to intestinal worms. The stools of the inmates were
examined twice during the year and a number of special gangs were formed so
that frequent inspections could be made of those who were infected.
The ova
of the ankylostoma worm were found in 67 cases, but it is remarkable that
although the stools were sifted as described in last year's report, no ankylostoma
worms were found during the year. The ova of the trichocephalus (whip) worms
were found in 39 cases, and although various kinds of treatment were tried, no
worms of this description could be found.
35 cases had the ascarides (round)
worms. Women suffered more from the last two diseases than men as 50 females
were treated against 24 males.
5. Attention was also drawn last year to the number that were infected
with more than one parasite and the following table shows the numbers for the
past two years :—
In
1911
...
...
In 1912 ... ...
INFECTED WITH
One kind of
parasite.
90
80
Two kinds of
parasite.
53
23
Three kinds
of parasite.
18
4
Four kinds of
parasite.
4
4
It will thus be seen that there has been a general improvement in this
matter.
The total number of patients examined in 1911 was 268 and in 1912 it
was 282. The percentage with ankylostome infection has fallen from 30.97 to
16.31, and that with the trichocephalus infection from 19.40 to 13.90, during the
past two years. Among the inmates who were admitted during the year it
was found that cases with ankylostome infection were received from the districts
of Nagpur, Betul, Jubbulpore, Amraoti, Buldana, Bilaspur, Raipur, Seoni, Hosh-
angabad, Akola and Yeotmal. The percentage of infection in new admissions
was 21.62, but as in no cases were any worms found after treatment the infection
was evidently very slight.