21
NORTHERN DISTRICT.
Years.
Rate per Cent. of
Average Strength Present.
Average Strength.
Admissions.
Daily Sick.
All Deaths.
Pensioned.
Sick Leave.
1872 ..
..
..
..
125.18
4.08
1.38
1.98
1.56
1873 ..
..
..
..
94.88
4.17
.70
1.91
2.37
1874 ..
..
..
..
94.36
4.80
1.07
3.47
2.03
Average ..
104.80
4.35
1.05
2.45
1.98
1875 ..
..
..
..
95.85
4.36
1.30
2.72
2.51
The following corps were serving in the division on the 31st December
1875 :—
2nd Regiment N.I., Head-Quarters and Right Wing.
2nd
do.
do. Left Wing.
7th
do.
do.
12th
do.
do.
41st
do.
do.
Deputy Surgeon-General W. J. vanSomeren, M.D., was in charge of this district
during the year and reports as follows :—
Alleged Causes of Sickness and Mortality.
I. The Northern District has fared better than the Presidency in 1875. The death-rate
has been 14.04 per mille. Of 40 death casualties only 23 occurred in hospital, this
b e i n g . 8 0 p e r c e n t . o f t h e s t r e n g t h o f t h e f o r c e .
a. Cuttack continues a hotbed of malaria, due to both climatic and seasonal influences
on the one hand, and persistent insanitary conditions of the lines on the other.
b. The insalubrity of Sumbulpore, as a station for troops, has been less marked in the
year under review than in that which preceded it. The condition of the solitary cell
is most insanitary, and is " not such as to permit any one living in it even for a brief
period without incurring the dangers of a polluted atmosphere."
c . T h e l i n e s a t B e r h a m p o r e c o n t i n u ei
n s t a t u q u o ,
a n d t h e o c c u r r e n c e o f 5 6 c a s e s o f
cholera with 19 deaths among them in the right wing of the 2nd Regiment N.I.
is a lesson which ought not to be forgotten. May I refer to my remarks on this subject
in my report for 1874.
d .
T h e f o l l o w i n g e x t r a c t f r o m t h e S a n i t a r y R e p o r t o f t h e M e d i c a l O f f i c e r o f t h e 7 t h
Regiment N.I. deserves notice :—
* * * " O w i n g t o t h e r e b e i n g n o p u b l i c l a t r i n e n e a r t h e l i n e s a s p o t
of ground to the east of the lines is converted by the people in the neighbouring
villages into a latrine. This is very objectionable, as the prevailing breeze to the lines
comes over this spot. This circumstance has been pointed out to the municipality, but
no notice has been taken of it up to the present."
II. a. The improvement of drainage of the lines, mentioned in last report as in progress
in Vizianagram, has been completed, but the former defectiveness has not been
remedied, because " owing to the very small slope of the main drain and its narrowness,
the drainage is impeded just where it should flow off most readily, and has in fact to
be cleared out by hand."
b. The damp condition of the guard-room walls at Sumbulpore is reported to have been
obviated by the Department Public Works.
Seasonal phenomena. —In Vizagapatam, Vizianagram, and Berhampore the rainfall was
below the average ; in Cuttack it was considerably above it ; and in Sumbulpore the medical
officer's silence on the subject induces me to hope that it was neither the one nor the other. In
all the forementioned stations the hot season is represented to have been moderate, and the cold set
in somewhat earlier than usual in Cuttack. In none of them, however, except the last named, did
seasonal characteristics affect the health of the troops, while in Cuttack the early supervention of
the cool weather induced a correspondingly early increase in the prevalence of malarial fevers.
Necessaries of life. —The necessaries of life have been so adequate to the demand as to have
been purchaseable at moderate prices.
6
Seasona l
phenomena.
Necessaries of
life.