MILITARY DEPARTMENT, 29TH AUGUST 1881, No. 4647.
3
Eruptive Fevers.—There was but one case of small-pox. Four cases of scarlet
fever occurred at Bangalore.
Enteric Fever.—There were twenty-five admissions and eleven deaths. The
chief incidence of the disease was at Secunderabad and Kamptee, there having been
thirteen cases with six deaths at the former and ten cases with four deaths at the
latter. The cases at Kamptee mostly occurred in August, just after the rains of
the South-west monsoon, and at the same time there was an outbreak of simple
continued fever, the cases of which bore a suspicious resemblance to enteric. This
fever epidemic occurred in the 2/13th Regiment, and the total number of cases,
continued and enteric, amounted to twenty-seven. While prosecuting inquiries as
to the probable cause of the outbreak, it was discovered that twenty out of the
twenty-seven men attacked were professed teetotallers. It was also ascertained
that the teetotallers of the regiment had a special recreation-room in which aërated
drinks, tea and coffee were provided, and that the water supplied to the room was
got from a well of which the water was of inferior quality to that set apart for
drinking purposes. As the conditions under which these men lived were in every
respect, except as regards the water supply, exactly the same as those under which
their comrades who escaped fever were living, it seems probable that the use of
impure water gave rise to the sickness. The most careful inquiry failed to discover
any other probable cause, and the fact that the outbreak ceased soon after the
suspected well was closed is also significant. Chemical examination showed that
the water of this well contained objectionable organic matter, and the possibility
of sewage contamination was also established. Taking these and other circum
- s t a n c e s i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n , t h e r e i s p r e s u m p t i v e e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e o u t b r e a k a t
Kamptee was due to the use of foul water.
Paroxysmal Fevers.—Although there was an increase in their prevalence to
the extent of 80.8 per 1,000 men as contrasted with 1879, there were fewer deaths;
and the low rate of mortality—0.29 per 1,000—shews that the attacks were of a
mild type.
Sunstroke.—The admissions were thirty-one and the deaths seven, against
thirty-six and thirteen respectively in 1879.
Diseases of the Circulatory System.— There was a satisfactory decrease in the
prevalence of these ailments, the admission rate having fallen from 19.80 in 1879
to 17.80 in 1880. The common functional derangement of palpitation was 2.9
per 1,000 men less prevalent than in 1879.
Diseases of the Digestive System.— The admission rate for these was 69.4, and the
death rate 2.32, less per mille than in 1879. Dysentery and diarrhœa show a remark
- a b l e d e c l i n e , a n d t h e a d m i s s i o n s f o r h e p a t i t i s a n d a b s c e s s o f t h e l i v e r s t o o d a t 4 0 5
against 587 in 1879. Possibly, as in the case of fever, the prevalence of hepatic
inflammation and dysentery is to some extent dependent on meteorological pheno
- m e n a a n d m a l a r i a .
Venereal Diseases. —There was a decrease of the most dangerous form, the
admission rate per 1,000 for primary syphilis having declined from 113.36 in 1879
to 107.59 in 1880. The admission rate for gonorrhœa was on the other hand 12.52
per 1,000 in excess of the rate for the preceding year.
Accidents.—Three deaths were suicidal, viz., two from gun-shot wound and one
from hanging. Four men died of fracture of the skull caused by falls, two suc
- c u m b e d t o s e v e r e i n j u r i e s s u s t a i n e d w h i l e o n d u t y , a n d o n e m a n w a s k i l l e d b y a
kick in a quarrel.
Influence of Season on Sickness.— The following table shews the relation of
seasonal influences to sickness and mortality amongst the troops:—