2
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
1. The regiment embarked for Malta the first three days in the month of May last; from
Location and movement
Malta it was sent on the 18th July to Cyprus, here it remained
until the end of August, when it returned to Bombay and
Poona. On the 11th of November it marched out of Poona, en route for Neemuch, where it
arrived on the 3rd of January 1879.
2. They are in much the same condition as last year, the court yards around the huts
The lines and their surround-
ings : present condition, hygienic
and otherwise.
have been for some time considered objectionable, affecting
ventilation, and are a cloak to dirty habits. The drainage is
chiefly natural, superficial drains lined with stone exist between
the lines of each troop, and the drainage from each hut flow into these.
3. The lines have been kept clean and the latrines regularly cleaned out twice daily;
Conservancy.
they are well situated to the east of the most northerly line
of huts, and distant 140 yards. The excreta are removed daily
by the conservancy carts to the cantonment manure ground.
4. Is very abundant, and is received direct from the Kurruckwasla waterworks
Water supply.
through pipes ; the water is not clean, but is reported to be
wholesome. There is a good supply of pure well water also,
but I am told the sowars and families for the most part prefer the former.
5. The supply of provisions in the bazaar is good and plentiful, and vegetables easily
Food and clothing
procured; prices remained high after the famine. A black
blouse is now worn on parade instead of the stable jacket
formerly in use, the men are pleased with the change and say they are able to move about
better in them than in the old tight stable jacket. The boots the men wear are in my
opinion unsatisfactory. During the march from Poona to Neemuch, there were no less than
42 men admitted into hospital or were unable to ride from shoe-bites. The price of these
boots is about Rs. 5 a pair, and they are as a rule badly made and ill fitting. For a little
more money a better boot could be procured, and the men should always be forced to wear
some sort of sock.
6. The duty is for the most part light, the men getting on an average 13½ nights in
Duties, exercise and amus
ements; their effect on health.
bed. A class is held twice a week for the purpose of teaching
recruits gymnastics.
7. The hospital is an excellent one, and was very fully described in the report for the
Hospital and its immediate
surroundings; present condition,
hygienic and otherwise.
year 1874; it will accommodate 29 patients within the walls,
but more accommodation has been required during the last
months of the year, owing to the number of ague cases admitted
the excess have been placed in the verandahs. the greatest
number at one time in hospital having been 60. The dry earth system has been carried out
in the hospital latrine.
8. The general health of the Regiment for the year has been good. In Malta there were
General health and physique.
several admissions for fever, generally of a mild intermittent type,
and a few cases of dysentery, some of which were severe, but
none ending fatally. The high temperature and exposure the men were subject to would
account for this sickness, their tents not supplying a sufficient protection from the sun. In
Cyprus for the first fortnight or three weeks, the health of the Regiment was good, and
while men in the European regiments were suffering in large numbers from fever and
dysentery, our men were exempt; later, however, our men suffered a good deal from
remittent fever with congestion of the liver and severe headache, and these cases were slow
to recover, becoming anæmic, and having a very characteristic malarial aspect. In a great
many instances the sea voyage from Cyprus to Bombay improved this. But on my return,
Surgeon Major Colston having previously arrived with the head-quarters of the regiment, I
found no less than 60 men in hospital, the majority suffering from anæmia and what was
called Cyprus fever. I should mention that the men suffered from the affection of the mouth
and tongue on arriving at Malta, which was so fully reported upon at the time by the
Medical Officers in charge of regiments suffering from the disease.
9. The influence of the Deccan climate on the Regiment during the past 7¾ years
Influence of climate or local
circumstances on health.
appears to nave been favourable, and the sickness and morta
-lity low.
10. Fever—694 admissions, of which 3 were of the remittent type. Cholera—one case,
which recovered. Rheumatic affections—20 cases, or which
1 was acute rheumatism, 13 chronic rheumatism, and 6 lumbago.
Syphilitic affections—10 admissions, of which 6 were primary syphilis and 4 secondary
syphilis. Diseases of the nervous system—3 admissions, 1 for neuralgia, 1 hemiplegia (left),
Details of treated.