128
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL,
Clothing,
Hospital.
X. Clothing. —As formerly described. On receiving orders for active service, the great-coats
of country cloth were replaced by those of English cloth as supplied to the British army. Extra
field kit, as follows, was issued by Government on arrival of the head-quarters and left wing
of the regiment at Dadur, viz., I j e r s e y , 1 p a i r w o r s t e d m i t t e n s , 2 p a r s w o r s t e d s o c k s ,
1. blanket ; these were much required to complete the clothing of the men who had reduced
their own kit to the 20 lbs. allowed by General Orders, and were therefore insufficiently clad for
camp in cold weather. It was much to be regretted that they had not been issud sooner,
for the men's hands and feet suffered much from cracks and fissures on the way from Sukkur
to Dadur, where the cold was very intense. The right wing and detachments did not receive
the extra kit in full, the jersey in particular being deficient. Thus they traversed the Bolan.
Pass to Quetta at the coldest season of the year very insufficiently clothed, less so in fact than
they would have been in an ordinary winter march in the plains of India. The country shoe
in use in this regiment, though very suitable for the plains of India, is not adapted for service
in these regions, where even the strong ammunition boot of the British soldier soon shows
signs of wear and tear. These might have been added to the men's kit with great advantage.
XIV. Hospital.—No change since former reports. At Mooltan the ordinary sepoys' pals
were replaced by lascar pals, which are much preferable, specially in cold weather, being smaller
and opening only at one end. They are thus more snug and comfortable than the larger double
pals, and when a regiment is broken up into detachments, these small pals can be detached
most conveniently. There has not been any crowding during the year, or any evidence of
i n s a l u b r i t y i n t h e h o s p i t a l .
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
XV. Sickness, mortality, and invaliding. —The sick rate for 1878 has been unusually high,
though the season was a very healthy one at Sialkot up to the second week of September. The
sick list was raised to a great extent in the months of June, July, and August, by the great
prevalence of venereal disease, a most unusual occurrence in this regiment. During the month
of September malarious fever became more frequent, and on the march towards Mooltan 10 to 15
cases were admitted daily. Ague of a severe type (the cold stage being almost choleraic in
character) was then prevalent in Mooltan district, but though the cases of ague among the
Sikhs were both frequent and severe, they did not in any instance assume the character of the
fever as observed among the inhabitants of the district and station. Having officiated for a
few days for the Civil Surgeon of Mooltan during his sickness, I had opportunities of com-
paring the indigenous Mooltan fever with that prevailing in my regiment, and the difference
was most marked. About the middle of November the fever began to abate, and was then
succeeded by congestion of the lungs and bowels, the result of exposure to cold of men who
had very hard work to perform with very insufficient clothing. The tabular statement attached
shows details of sickness of different portions of the regiment at different periods :
—
Strength of the regiment :—
Present .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 648.58
Absent .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
60.92
Total
.
. 709.50
STATION.
PERIOD
Strength.
TOTAL NUMBER
OF
Daily
average
number
of sick.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH
PEE ANNUM.
From
To
Admis-
sions. Deaths.
Admis-
sions. Deaths.
Daily
average
Head-quarters at Sialkot . 1st Jan. 1873 27th Sep. 1878
644.20
319
3
13.32
67.
.62
2.06
Head-quarters on march to
Dadur viâ Mooltan and
Sukkur .
.
.
. 28th Sep. „
31st Dec. „
457.40
416
1
26.26 349.40 .80
5.82
Right Wing marching from
Sukkur to Quetta
.
. 23rd Nov. ,,
Ditto
.
282.78
88
1
11.71 291.16 3.27
4.14
Detachment at Mooltan
. 8th
,, ,,
Ditto
.
36.50
1
...
9.54
18.18
. . .
26.13
,,
Quetta
. 20th Dec. „
Ditto
.
8.33
6
1
6.33
72.02 12.
7 6 .
Depôt at Sialkot
.
. 28th Sop. „
Ditto
.
73.19
44
1
8.13 230.94 5.22
11.10
TOTAL
.
. . .
. . .
648.58
874
7
21.27 134.75 1.07
3.27
Number of deaths in hospital 7; out of hospital 1; total .
8; per cent. of total strength
.
1.12
„
invalided' .
. . . . . . . .
15 ;
„
,,
.
2.11
,,
sent on sick leave.
.
.
.
.
.
8;
„
,, .
1.12
„
of days spent in hospital 7,767; per admission
8.88; per man of total strength
.
10.94
,,
,,
on sick leave 729; per man
.
. 91.12;
„
,, .
1.02
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
.
.
11.96
Principal
causes of
sickness.
Principal
causes of
mortality.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness. —Malarious fevers : 457 cases were admitted, being 7046
per cent. of strength; in 1877 the percentage was 22.95, and in 1876, a very unhealthy year
at Sialkot, it was 63.14. Venereal diseases : 92 cases were admitted, being 14.18 per cent.
of strength. Dysentery and diarrhœa 54 cases, or 8.32 per cent, of strength. Respiratory
diseases : 51 cases, or 7.86 per cent. of strength.
XVII. Principal causes of mortality. —One man died under the head of ague. While suffer-
ing that disease on the march up the Bolan Pass, he was attacked by dysentery, and died
in the base hospital at Quetta. Two men died of syphilis. One was under treatment for chancre ;
diffuse inflammation of the perineum occurred, and he died in a hectic condition. The other