114:
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL,
STATION
P E R I O D .
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
s i c k .
Head-quarters at Ferozepore lst Jan. 1878. 31st Dec. 1878 616.31 1,291
14 37.29 208.25 2.25 6 . 0 1
TOTAL
...
...
620.38 1,291
14 37.29 208.09 2.25 6.01
Number of deaths in hospital 14; out of hospital 4; total . 18; per cent. of total strength. . 2.55
„ invalided
. . . . . . . . 19;
„
.
„
. 2 . 6 9
„ sent on sick leave . . . . . . . 10;
,
„ „
. .
1.41
„ of days spent in hospital 13,480 ; per admission . 10.44; per man of total strength . . 19.12
,,
„
on sick leave 1,561; per man . . 156.1;
„ „
. .
2.21
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength . . 21.33
Principal
causes of
sickness.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness. —The chief cause of admissions was, as usual, fever of the
intermittent type. Quotidian fever gave 890 cases; dysentery gave the next largest number
of cases, namely 39 ; bronchitis gave 35 admissions ; blisters of the foot 22; diarrhœa and
Colic, 20 admissions each; pneumonia gave 6 admissions, and 4 cases considered to be of enteric
fever were admitted ; 19 cases of general debility were admitted. The total number of cases
admitted was 1,291, as against 722 admitted during the year 1877. The number of cases of
quotidian fever was 890 against 288 in the year 1877. Nineteen cases of remittent fever were
admitted in 1878, and only seven were admitted during the year 1877. The chief difference in
the number of admissions was therefore due to the epidemic of malarious fever which prevailed.
XVIII. Epidemics.—It will be seen from the return of sick for the year that the chief cause
of the difference between the number of admissions for the last year and for the year 1877,
was the occurrence of a regular epidemic of malarions fever. This commenced about the end
of August and lasted to the end of November. The cause of this fever was probably the
inundation of the surrounding district with water from the rough irrigation canals made in
connection with the Sutlej river and dependent on its annual rise for their supply of water.
The country through which these canals pass is now yearly flooded with water to a very large
extent, and large nullahs, or rather lakes, are left for months to give out their emanations, whe-
ther harmful or otherwise. Four cases of fever were admitted, which were considered to be
enteric. The first man admitted appears to have contracted the disease on command between
Ferozepore and Loodiana, as he got fever first at the latter place, where he had halted for some
days, and came back ill to Ferozepore. The second and fourth eases would appear to have been
contracted in the station,-and from the habits of the men it is probable that if they were due
to an unsanitary condition of the station, the disease was contracted in the sudder bazar.
There seems to me to be no real reason why enteric fever should not prevail in any native
town, bazar or village as the state of filth in which they generally are is more easily recog-
nized than remedied; but the cases may have been only evidences of typho-malarial fever
which is generally said to pass over the whole of the north-west of India during the early part
of each cold season. Certain it is that the tendency to the enteric type disappeared during
the month of December. The third case of fever was that of a man who was sick attendant
on the second case admitted. He was about 45 or 50 years of age.
XXI. Special observations and remarks. —I would like to mention here that, after a con-
siderable experience of the cinchona febrifuge, it appears to be a medicine of decided value and
inferior only to quinine and, on certain occasions, to arsenic as a febrifuge. It does not appear,
however, to agree well when given in the fluid form, but if made up in the form of pill with
mucilage or treacle, or if preferred, with some good vegetable tonic extract, it can be given in
doses of from 5 to 15 grains without causing gastric irritation or disturbance. Many of the
men in hospital seemed to prefer it to quinine as being more efficacious in their particular cases.
It is to be regretted that no post-mortem on the two cases of enteric fever was made, but the
men's relatives objected strongly to a post-mortem being made.
Note.—There was no inspection of this regiment.
Epidemics.
Special
observations
and remarks.
Inspection.
Medical
Officers.
8th Bengal Cavalry—Mooltan.
I. Medical Officers. —Surgeon-Major E. O. Tandy held medical charge of
the regiment from the 1st
January till the 7th April,
and from the 10th October
to the 31st December. Sur-
geon J. Blood held. medical
charge from the 8th April
to the 9th October.
II. Location and movements.
— T h e h e a d - q u a r t e r s o f t h e r e c r i -
ment were stationed at Mooltan
from 1st January till 26th Sep-
tember ; on the march from 27th
September to 31st December ; and
at the depot at Mooltan from 27th
September to 31st December.
Location and
movements.
YEAR.
STATION.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH.
Admissions. Deaths. Daily sick.
1873 . Meerut, Feb. 1870
.
155.6
.8
4.3
1874 . Peshawar, Mar. 1874 . 134.07
1.1
3.5
1875 . Ditto
. . .
163.31
.88
4.53
1876 . Ditto.
. .
130.01
.88
3.35
1877 . Mooltan, 8th Feb. 1877
110.94
...
2.7
Average . .
140.58
.73
3.67
1878 . Mooltan . . .
180.04
1.75
5.68