Rations and
food-supply.
Clothing.
Duty and
Hospitals.
48
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF MADRAS.
White-wash.
Vaccination.
Rations and food-supply .—There has been no scarcity of food during the year, and the
prices have been moderate. At Mercara and Bellary the markets were deficient in a supply
of vegetables, and the native soldier is unable to obtain a sufficiency of this kind of food,
but no evil influence is directly traceable upon health.
Clothing.—The military clothing is suitable to climate, but the plain clothing worn by
the men is not sufficiently protective, especially in the climate of Mercara, at which station,
the Medical officer attributes much of the sickness, both amongst the men and their fami-
lies, to insufficient protection against cold and damp.
Duty and. drill.—Duties generally have been light, but at Bangalore the troops have
on occasions had too few nights in bed. It has been at times below the standard of three
in bed to one on duty.
Hospitals.—I have no change to report in hospital accommodation. At Bangalore the
accommodation is insufficient, and the hospitals are of a very indifferent construction and
arrangement, and have often been overcrowded, especially during the prevalence of dengue,
necessitating the use of tents. The latrine and ablution accommodation is generally
sufficient, and conservancy of all buildings is well attended to. A new latrine has been
built for the Hospital of the 30th Regiment at the French Rocks.
White-washing .—All hospitals have not been white-washed, as required by the regula-
tions, twice in the year.
Vaccination.—Under the provisions of the Inspector-General's Circulars No. 3,757 and.
4,181 of 19th July and 10th August 1871, considerable impetus has been given to this import-
ant subject, and. I may safely say that Medical officers have given very creditable attention
to it. The following table shows the extent to which the troops and their families and
followers are protected by vaccination or by prior attacks of small-pox, and the number of
cases of small-pox during the year. The strength is as it stood on the last day of the year.
The table is approximative only to the truth, especially in the number of small-pox cases in
relation to strength. The figures under this head show the numbers which occurred in the
several regiments during the year whether serving in my circle or not.
—
N a t i v e T r o o p s Recr ui t s.
R e c r u i t B o y s
NON-COMBATANTS.
CHILDREN.
Remarks.
Men
Wo m e n
Not
exceeding
6 months.
6 months
14 years.
Aggregate Strength... 4,641 475 308 1,759 6,154
546
4,376 Strength is taken as it
stood on the 31st Decem-
ber 1872.
Number bearing marks
of successful vaccina-
tion.
2,505 324 243 986 2,632
341
3,016
Number bearing marks
of previous small-pox.
2,043 105 57 597 1,743
52
792
Number unprotected
by either of above.
93 46
8 176 1,779
153
568
Number of cases of
small-pox in 1872.
7
11
34
14
* 2 4 0 *90 of these occurred in
families of 4th Regiment
L. C. at Secunderabad.
Ratio per cent. of Strength.
Protected by previous
small-pox or vacci-
nation.
97.7 90.3 97.4 89.9 71.0
71.9
87.0
Uuprotected ...
...
2.3 9.7 2.6 10.1 29.0
28.1
13.0
This table, although not strictly accurate, affords some useful information. It shows for
instance, that amongst the troops, 2.3 per cent. are unprotected either by previous small-pox
or vaccination.
That as regards recruits, the proportion is as high as 9.7 per cent., one in every 10 nearly.
In recruit boys, the proportion is 2.6 per cent. Amongst non-combatant men,10.1 ; women,
29 ; children under 6 months, 281, and from 6 months to 14 years, 13. These figures
show that much has yet to be done amongst the families of the men who are still largely
unprotected.
If we turn to returns of individual regiments, we find very different results as to the
condition of protection. In the Sappers and Miners for instance, we find that all the troops
are returned as protected, except two men just, returned. from Rangoon ; while the whole of
the non-combatant men and women and a considerable number of children are unprotected.
But the Surgeon explains that amongst the latter class all are returned as unprotected, who