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that, as far back as 1846 exceptional outbreaks of malarious fever, in which
the intermittent type was almost or completely merged in the continued have
occurred. ***The inhabitants of this district have come to consider an
outbreak of fever in the months of September, October, and November as a
condition of their existence, and though fewer inhabitants of a village are
free from it, and many succumb to its effects immediately or remotely, it is
considered as the usual normal occurrence, and it is only exceptional
outbreaks, such as that of 1846 and 1865, which arrest attention and arouse
alarm."***
During the latter months of 1867 and earlier months of 1868 cholera was
extensively prevalent in this district. It prevailed very generally all over
the district, breaking out here and there without any apparent rule. Several
thousand deaths occurred from this cause throughout the district. The
disease appeared soon after the cyclone and while the waters of an unusually
high inundation were rapidly subsiding. * * * The months of November,
December, January, and February, were characterized by an almost complete
absence of rain. In March and April, however, rain fell in frequent copious
showers, and cholera abated and subsided in the course of three months.
* * * The type of this cholera was not very severe, as the station was not
visited with any degree of severity and the jail not at all. The district of
Jessore is a portion of the delta of the river Ganges. The depth of the
sub-soil water from the surface varies with the time of year, but generally
water can always be found within a few feet of the surface. Wells are
generally made of a series of earthenware cylinders fitted into each other
and are from 20 to 30 feet deep. The depth of tanks averages about 15 feet.
Cholera is an annual visitant of the Jessore district. It is apt to prevail
in the months of March, April, and May, and in October and November.
The visitations of the later months are not so general and the type of cases
not so severe as in the earlier months ; when cholera appears in the district,
it breaks out simultaneously in different places, and no line of progress can be
traced ; generally its conduct is most eccentric ; it will attack a portion of a
village, a side of a bazar, a few inmates of a house, and no rule or law can be
discovered in its origin or progress. Heavy falls of rain always check it, but if
the rain is not sustained, it is apt to appear again with renewed vigour. Hot
dry weather, with strong dusty winds, is the most favourable condition of its
origin. The severity of cases varies greatly in different outbreaks, and the type
of cases also varies as regards severity of cramps, &c. Twenty-two years in the
Jessore Jail give the following figures :—
Annual admissions per cent. of strength
Deaths per cent. of strength per annum
Deaths par cent. of cases treated
Admissions per cent. of total admissions
Deaths per cent. of total deaths
3·4
·95
27·6
2·2
20·9
Admissions per cent. of strength in each month :—
January
February
March
April
May
June
. 0·6
. ·13
. ·81
. ·97
. ·57
. ·35
July
August
September
October
November
December
.04
.05
.11
.08
.15
.09
Diarrhoea precedes and accompanies cholera. There is also more or less
diarrhœa always accompanying the annual outbreak of fever in October and
November. The jail statistics for twenty-two years give the following
results :—
Admission per cent. of strength
Deaths per cent. of strength ...
Deaths per cent. of cases treated
Admissions per cent. of total admissions
Deaths per cent. of total deaths
...
11·3
·65
5·8
7·1
...
14·3