67
POONA DIVISION OF THE ARMY.
of a whole regiment and the staff patients besides. It is efficiently ventilated by means of
doors and windows and three large openings through the roof ridge.
The latrine attached to the hospital is cleaned by the hospital sweepers twice a day,
and the night-soil is carried away out of Cantonment limits. Carbolic acid and McDougall's
powder are used for disinfection.
8 . T h e g e n e r a l h e a l t h o f t h e R e g i m e n t , a s d e d u c e d f r o m t h e n u m b e r o f a d m i s s i o n s i n
hospital, and the average daily sick, shows a marked improvement
on the previous two years, and may now be pronounced good.
The physique of most of the men is good. The average height of the sepoys is 5 feet
7 ½ i n c h e s , a n d t h e i r a v e r a g e c h e s t m e a s u r e m e n t 3 3 i n c h e s . T h e t a l l e s t m a n i n t h e r a n k s
measures 6 feet 2¼ inches, and the shortest 5 feet ½ an inch. Some of the men have not yet
got over the ill effects of the malarious cachexia and scorbutic taint acquired at Nusseerabad,
and appear to be old and worn-out, though they have not been in the service more than
twelve years. The recruits enlisted this year are very promising.
This Regiment has been warned for active service since the last four months, and was
carefully inspected by a Special Medical Board in September last, when out of a strength of
642, 21 men were invalided, 3 discharged for physical disability, and 68 pronounced unfit for
active service, though fit for ordinary station duties. I still consider about 62 men unfit for
active service in a trying climate like that of Afghanistan. On the whole, the Regiment is
now quite as fit to take the field as any other Maharatta corps.
9 . T h e c h a n g e f r o m t h e u n h e a l t h y c l i m a t e o f N u s s e e r a b a d ( w h e r e t h e m e n s u f f e r e d
considerably from ague and scurvy during the previous year),
to this comparatively very healthy station, has proved very
beneficial to the health of the Regiment.
10. During the year under review the total number of treated was 840, against 2,000
in 1878 and 914 in 1877. There were 792 admissions, out of
which 696 were discharged to duty, 22 died in hospital, 26
discharged otherwise, and 47 remaining under treatment at the end of the year. The daily
average number of sick was 30.2; the rate per cent. of admissions to average strength,
126.7; the rate per cent. of daily sick to average strength, 4.6; and the rate per cent. of
deaths in hospital to average strength, 3 8.
The following tabular statement constrasts the cases of admissions into hospital for the
years 1879 and 1878:—
Years.
M a l a r i a l F e v e r s .
R h e u m a t i s m .
D i s e a s e s o f t h e D i g e s t i v e S y s t e m .
D i s e a s e s o f t h e C u - t a n e o u s S y s t e m .
I n j u r i e s .
D i s e a s e s o f t h e E y e .
D i s e a s e s o f t h e R e s - p i r a t o r y S y s t e m .
G u i n e a - w o r m .
S y p h i l i s .
G o n o r r h œ a .
E n t e r i c F e v e r .
S c u r v y .
C h o l e r a .
A l l O t h e r C o m - p l a i n t s .
T o t a l .
For 1878 . . .
1,400 91
86
79
74
66
62
14
13
8
3 46
1 47 1,990
For 1879 . . .
334 43
74
54
73
39
86
10
25
19
. . . 4
4 27
792
It will be seen from the foregoing statement that malarial fevers, as usual, head the list.
Of these 334, 5 were admitted for remittent fever and the rest for ague. About a fourth of
the cases treated for ague were complicated with lung affections, head symptoms, or splenic
enlargement. In the list of diseases of the respiratory system, bronchitis furnished 73 cases,
pneumonia 11, asthma 1, and phthisis 1. In diseases of the digestive system diarrhœa, gave
28, dysentery 18, dyspepsia 1, splenitis 7, and hepatic disease 5. There were 73 admissions
from injuries (mostly shoe-bites). In some cases small shoe-bites developed by degrees
into large unhealthy sores, which, occurring as they did in weak and anæmic subjects, required
a long course of tonics and nourishing diet to heal up. Diseases of the eye furnished 39 cases,
of which 37 were from a mild form of conjunctivitis. Admissions from venereal diseases show
a marked increase on the previous year. Though there were only four admissions from
scurvy, about 35 men were treated as out-patients for a milder form of the disease.
There were two interesting cases which require special notice. One was a case of cirrhosis
of the liver, orginally admitted for dyspepsia, and the other was a case of abscess of the liver,
not preceded by well marked symptoms of hepatitis. Short summaries of the two cases are
given below:
—
General health and physique.
Influence of climate or local
circumstances on health.
Details of treated.