PRESIDENCY DISTRICT.
5
at the beginning of the year, the men were much more healthy, although much harder worked.
The average number of nights in bed has been 7.9.
X I V . H o s p i t a l . — T h e h o s p i t a l w h i c h h a s b e e n f u l l y d e s c r i b e d i n p r e v i o u s r e p o r t s h a s b e e n
kept in thorough repair throughout the year. The accommodation has been ample, and the
ventilation good. There is a deficiency in the accommodation for hospital assistants and
medical pupils, and a correspondence has taken place with the Executive Engineer with regard
to it. The correspondence will be resumed as soon as a plan of the out-houses can be prepared.
A new dead-house was built during the year just outside the hospital compound.
X V . S i c k n e s s , m o r t a l i t y a n d i n v a l i d i n g . — T h e r e h a s b e e n a c o n s i d e r a b l e i n c r e a s e b o t h i n
sickness and mortality during the past year. This I attribute entirely to the station.
Mor a da ba d a nd Sha hj a ha npur , whe r e t he r e gi me nt ha d be e n s t a t i one d f or t he pr e vi ous t hr e e
years, are two of the most healthy places in the North-West Provinces. The climate also is
more suited to men from the Punjab. It was fully expected when the regiment arrived at
Alipore that there would be an increase of sickness, and, on the whole, the men have kept in
better health, and there has been less mortality than I had expected from looking at the reports
of regiments which had occupied the place previously. The number invalided was less last year
than it has been since 1869. The number sent to their homes on sick leave has increased
considerably. From my own observation I am convinced that, when a man has had a serious
illness here, a change of climate is absolutely necessary for his restoration to health. Most of
those sent on sick leave have been sent for short periods.
Strength of the regiment
Hospital.
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
Present
6 3 8 . 7 4
Absent
6 1 . 6 9
TOTAL
7 0 0 . 4 3
PERIOD.
Strength.
TOTAL NUMBER
OF
Daily
average n u m b e r
of sick.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH
PER ANNUM.
STATION.
From
To
Admis- s i o n s . Deaths.
Admis- sions. Deaths. Daily
average sick.
Depôt at Alipore 1st Jan. 1876 2nd Feb. 1876 176
20
5.70 125.99
3.23
Camp of Exercise, Delhi
Ditto
Ditto
512
17
9.87 36.82
1.92
Alipore
2nd Feb. 1876 31st Dec. 1876 634.83 763 6 22.66 132.10 1.03 3.56
TOTAL
638.74 800 6 22.16 125.24 0.93 3.46
Number of deaths in hospital 6; out of hospital 2; total 8; per cent. of total strength
1 . 1 4
„
invalided 28; „ „ 3 . 9 9
„ sent on sick leave 25;„ „
3.56
„
of days spent in hospital 8,090; per admission 10.11; per man of total strength 11.55
„ „ on sick leave 2,250; per man 90; „ „
3.21
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
1 4 . 7 6
XVI. Principal causes of sickness. —Malarious fevers and bowel complaints are, as usual,
the chief causes of sickness. The former accounts for 65.8 per cent. of the total number of
admissions, and the latter gives 15.6 per cent. Acute bronchitis and general debility come
next in the number of admissions. In both cases they were generally the sequelæ of
fever. The numbers admitted for ulcers and sore feet were very small compared with previous
years. No other classes of disease require special notice. Of the 28 cases discharged
otherwise, 25 were sent on sick leave to their homes; and in 3 the diseases were changed. A
few cases of measles of mild type occurred at the beginning of the year, .but only 2 were
admitted after the arrival of the regiment at Alipore. The cases were, Of course, carefully
isolated, and the disease did not spread.
XVII. Principal causes of mortality. —Six deaths occurred 'in hospital during the year, viz.,
three from dysentery, one from diarrhœa, one from general debility, and one from ague. At
the post mortems held on each case, nothing worthy of special record was discovered.
XVIII. Epidemics. —A few cases of measles occurred, but they were carefully isolated, and
the disease never became epidemic.
XIX. Vaccination. —All the recruits who joined during the year were found either to
have had small-pox or been inoculated or vaccinated. All the old sepoys had been protected
either by previous attacks of small-pox or vaccination. A few of the children of the sepoys
and camp followers were vaccinated early in the year.
XX. Recommendations. —All recommendations made during the year have invariably
met with favorable consideration and been carried out. They have chiefly related to the diet
of the sepoys and to conservancy matters.
XXI. Special observations.—There is certainly a falling off in the health of the regiment
during the past year, but still not sufficient to call for any special report. on the subject. I
attribute the increased sickness entirely to the climate, and observe that the men appear to have B
Principal
causes of sick-
ness.
Mortality.
Epidemics.
Vaccination.
Recommenda-
tions.
Special obser
-vations.