142
SKETCH OF THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
DETACHMENT H. M.'s 9TH REGIMENT N. I.
BURDA CHOWKY.—In Medical Charge 3rd Class Hospital Assistant Lingoo Ashena; Strength 90.
The number remained on the 1st January 3 patients, admitted during the year 292,
making the total treated in the hospital 295; discharged well during the year 287; deaths
only 1, and there are now remaining under treatment, on the 1st January 1873, 7.
The daily average number of sick during the year has been 9.3.
The following table shows the admissions and the average daily attendance during each
month of the year:—
Months.
Admissions.
Average
daily
attendance.
January . . .
4
2.5
February . . .
9
3.7
M a r c h . . .
5
2.4
April . . .
7
1.6
M a y . . .
7
1.6
June . . .
30
6.2
July . . .
2 3
8.1
August
44
12.0
September . . .
62
24.0
O c t o b e r . . .
56
20.0
November . . .
30
11.0
December . . .
15
9.0
It will be seen the greater number of admissions took place in the months of June, July
August, September, October and November, and the minimum in December; so also the maxi
-mum daily average attendance took place in September and October, while the smallest
number attended in the month of December.
H. M.'s 25TH REGIMENT N.L.I.
MEHIDPOOR.—In Medical Charge of Assistant Surgeon M. HEFERNAN.
Strength.
Europeans . . .
5
N a t i v e s . . .
311
The 25th Regiment which had been stationed at Dhoolia since December 1868,
marched out of it for Mehidpoor and Augur on the afternoon of the 3rd January of the past
year. During the three years that the regiment was stationed at Dhoolia the men suffered
severely from ague, and two companies which were detached to Burda Chowky in Kattywar
were if anything worse off in the way of climate, and also suffered a great deal from malarial
fevers. When the stations of the regiment since 1863 are taken into consideration, it will be
no surprise to read that the medical history of the corps should lately show a large amount
of malarial fevers. The places alluded to are the Boree Bander Lines, Bombay, the passes of
Abyssinia (during the campaign in that country), Dhoolia and Burda Chowky, and now
Mehidpoor.
I mentioned in my report of the regiment for 1871, that the young Mahrattas recruited
within the last few years from the Koncan and Deccan suffered a good deal from ague. In
the year under review the admissions from ague amongst the same class of men, all of three
years' service, have amounted to 206. Government, however, having restricted the recruiting
ground of the Bombay Army of this presidency, I believe no other men are obtainable.
The regiment, as before stated, marched out of Dhoolia on the 3rd of January last, and a
decided improvement in the health of the men was noticed after a day's halt at Chalisgaum,
place only three marches away from that station. They seem to have shaken off the old
liability to fevers, and having performed the rest of the march with comparatively little sick
- n e s s , a r r i v e d a t M e h i d p o o r o n t h e 2 5 t h o f J a n u a r y w i t h o n l y t h i r t e e n m e n i n h o s p i t a l . D u r i n g
the month of January the greater part of which the regiment was marching, the average
strength was 562, and the average daily number of sick 14.25, but the men with slight shoe-
bites were not admitted into hospital. A bad case of acute bronchitis, in a man who was
suffering from ague, occurred on the march, and the patient was for some time dangerously ill;