XV. Sickness, mortality and invaliding.—Strength of the regiment:—
Present.
. . . .
. 673.55
Absent.
.
. 53.82
Total
. 727.37
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
Special obser
-vations and
remarks.
Inspection.
LAHORE DIVISION. 119
narrow that the sick men were in constant danger of falling out ; moreover, there was no room
for any bedding and no protection from the weather. In any future expedition beyond the
Indus, one light dooly per company, supplemented by camel kajawas and mules, would be found
sufficient with native troops. No doubt, in India, light and strong wheeled carriages must soon
superside the dooly.
STATION.
PERIOD.
Strength.
TOTAL NUMBER
OF
Daily
average
number of
sick.
PER CENT OF STRENGTH
PER ANNUM.
From
To
Admis- sions. Deaths.
Admis-
sions. Deaths.
Daily
average
sick.
Head-quarters, Dharmsala,
and on march.
1st Jan. 1878 31st Dec. 1878 509.19 952
11 84.30 186.96 2.15 6.73
Detachment, Suket . . 16th
„ „ 26th Jan. „ 145.00
7 ...
.38 159.93 ...
.26
„
Simla . . 15th Mar. „ 28th Oct. „ 148.66 219 ...
6.02 225.91 ...
4.05
„
Kangra . . 1st Jan. „ 27th Sep. „
60.00 101
. . . 1.91 126.07...
3.18
„
Dadur . . 16th Dec. „
Ditto
„
92.38 30 ...
.44 740.72 ...
.47
Depôt, Dharmsala . . 3rd Oct. „ 31st Dec, „
58.00
46 ...
3.13 321.64 ... 5.38
TOTAL .
. . .
...
673.55 1,355
11 46.18 201.02 1.63 6.85
Number of deaths in hospital 11; out of hospital 4; total
15; per cent. of total strength. . 2.06
„ invalided . . . . . . . .
1; „
„
. .
.26
„ sent on sick leave
.
. . . .
6;
„
„
. .
.82
„ of days spent in hospital 16,783; per admission . 12.38; per man of total strength .
23.07
„
on sick leave 300 ; per man
.
50;
„
„
. .
.41
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength . . 23.48
XVI. Principal causes of sickness. —Intermittent fever as usual caused more admissions
than any other complaint ; and the number of cases was increased by the regiment having to
march at the height of the fever season. In most cases the attacks were not severe; but they
returned again and again until the health of the men was seriously injured, and they became
extremely sensitive to vicissitudes of climate. The total number of cases was 759; the number
during the previous year having been 524. Of remittent fever there were 4 cases, against 3
the year before. Of pneumonia there were 14 cases, and of bronchitis 9. Of dysentery there
were 53 cases, many of them severe, but none were fatal. Of diarrhœa and colic there were
37 and 33 cases respectively. The number of venereal cases was unusually large, being syphilis
35 and gonorrhœa 44. The regiment having marched through several large towns probably
accounts for this. The number of foot-sore cases was 83, which considering the number of
detachments and the distances marched, shows a great improvement upon former years.
XXI. Special observations and remarks.—Although the subject more properly relates to the
report for 1879, I may here suggest that when free rations are issued to native troops and
followers, as was the case in this campaign, it would be very beneficial to the sick, as well as
economical for Government, if a regular scale of hospital diet was laid down.
Inspection. —There was no inspection of this regiment during the year.
4th Coorkha Regiment—Bakloh.
I. Medical Officers. —Surgeon G. S. Griffiths held medical charge of the
regiment from 1st January
to the 15th of April, when
he was relieved by Surgeon-
Major G. C. Chesnaye, who
has continued in medical
charge to the end of the year.
II. Location and movements.
— T h e r e g i m e n t c o n t i n u e d a t B a k l o h
up to the 2nd October, on which
date it proceeded on field service
in Afghanistan. It advanced to
Dakka on the 25th November, to
Basawul on the 1st December, and
arrived at Jellalabad when the
year closed, on the 31st December.
YEAR.
STATION.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH.
Admissions. Deaths. Daily sick.
1873 . Bakloh.
.
98.2
1.1
3.1
1874 . Ditto.
.
.
91.9
. 5 2.8
1875 . Ditto
. . . 119.5
1.69
4.1
1876 . Ditto.
.
.
88.6
1.38
3.4
1877 . Ditto.
. .
78.07
1.09
2.94
Average
95.25
1.15
3.27
1878 . Bakloh and active service
in Afghanistan . .
139.42
1.76
4.21
Principal
causes of
sickness.
Medical
Officers.
Location and
movements.