38
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
men was reported good except in November, when it was pronounced "tolerably good."
Since last report a talimkhana has been instituted, and gymnastic exercises are in favour
with the younger soldiers of the regiment.
7 . T h e r e g i m e n t a l h o s p i t a l i s s t i l l a h i r e d b u n g a l o w i n t h e S a d a r B a z a a r . A s s t a t e d i n
former reports, a properly appointed hospital out of the bazaar
is urgently needed. The building itself is weather-proof, for
the bungalow is a new one, but its position in the bazaar ought
to condemn it.
8. In the monthly return for December I thus wrote (having recently returned from
furlough):—"The appearance of the men strikes me as less
robust than it was a year ago ;" and there is a falling off, I think,
in physique too. The general health, though pronounced "good," has deteriorated during
the year under review.
Hospital and its immediate sur
-roundings : present condition, hy
- g i e n i c a n d o t h e r w i s e .
General health and physique.
Influence of climate or local
circumstances on health.
9. No doubt the general health of the men was influenced
unfavourably by the exceptional character of the climate, due to
deficient rainfall, and the presence of famine in the land.
10. In the list of general diseases, ague prevailed more than any other, and furnished
297 admissions. A. solitary case of chicken-pox occurred, and
one case of mumps was met with. Chronic rheumatism gives
22 admissions, and syphilis, primary and secondary, 17 and 19 respectively. Scurvy was
treated in 3 cases. Hemiplegia is the only example of diseases of the nervous system. Con
- j u n c t i v i t i s g i v e s 3 9 a d m i s s i o n s . 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 a r e i l l u s t r a t e d b y 2 6
cases of bronchitis and 1 of pneumonia. For diseases of the digestive system there were 35
admissions, for diseases of the cellular tissue 7, and for injury 42.
11. There were four deaths during the year—one was due to bronchitis, and the rest to
cholera.
Details of treated.
Mortality and its causes.
Vaccination and re-vaccination
12. Forty-five children were vaccinated successfully ; the
lymph was reported good.
13. Sixty men were invalided for the following causes :—chronic rheumatism 10,
syphilis (secondary) 6, scurvy 2, hemiplegia 1, defective sight 3,
palpitation of the heart 1, dyspepsia 1, laryngitis 1, diseases
of the lungs 9, injury 1, and old age and debility 25.
14. The requirements and recommendations may be thus summarized :—(1) New lines,
with a plentiful and perennial supply of pure water, which
could with little engineering difficulty be brought from the
neighbouring hills, is the first requirement. (2) A properly appointed hospital out of, and
at a considerable distance from the Sader Bazaar, is the second requirement.
15. In the Sadar Bazaar itself sanitation, though better than when I first knew Satara,
is still susceptible of great improvement. The prostitutes who
live there, and prowl about camp in all directions, are under
supervision of no kind. The propriety of establishing a Lock
Hospital has often been insisted on in annual reports, and is
again recommended in this one.
Inspection by Deputy Surgeon-General BEATTY.
The lines and surroundings are unaltered. The crowded and unventilated state of the
sepoys' huts has been previously brought to notice. The hospital, which is a hired building,
is, from its close proximity to the bazaar, totally unsuited for the purpose. The building
itself was found to be clean, but the accommodation for sick is extremely limited. The
books and records were carefully written up to date.
•
Invaliding and its causes.
Requirements and recommen
-dations.
Special observations, new ex
-periences in treatment, sanitation, &c, &c.