116
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL
the contagion theory to be correct, the medical officer might be the means of bringing in the
disease to cantonments after his hospital visits, and more particularly so, as several cases o
c -
curred amongst relatives of the men living in the vicinity of the old lines, and who were treated
for the disease, use being made of the old, empty magazine building near the hospital.
Under these circumstances, I recommended to the commanding officer, that as there was
no probability of the new hospital being ready for occupation for at least another year, that a
temporary hospital should he built in the new cantonment, and when completed, that we should
desert the Dehra hospital entirely ; so that in case of future epidemics, all communication
with Dehra could be completely shut off. A site was selected between the bazaar and lines.
The matter met with the approval of the commanding officer and the Deputy Surgeon-General
of the circle, and the building was commenced in June ; but on account of the rains it was not
completed till the beginning of the cold weather, and then was not considered quite dry enough
to be safely occupied. This hospital consists of two long wards, and a verandah all round.
It is built on a raised plinth of about 2 feet ; mud walls and thatched roof, one end verandah
being divided off at the corners for a dispensary and office : a room will be required for the hos
- p i t a l a s s i s t a n t s . I t i s c a l c u l a t e d t h a t s u f f i c i e n t a c c o m m o d a t i o n w i l l b e g i v e n f o r t h e u s u a l
number of sick. The ventilation is good, and it will be much cooler than the old Dehra hos--
pital, whose floor and walls must be saturated with impure exhalations of forty years' occupancy.
On the return of the regiment to the Doon, the sick will be moved into this building, and on the
completion of the Government building, it will be used as the hospital for the women and child-
ren of the regiment. The hospital accommodation then for the whole regiment will be most
perfect. Its vicinity to the Government hospital new building, will enable the hospital assist-
ants to attend to the patients in it with little extra trouble, and its nearness to the lines will
be a great inducement for the families to reside in it when really ill. The great distance of
the old hospital in Dehra, almost shuts off the families from applying for aid, as they could not
afford the time to go to and fro and leave their cooking and domestic affairs in the lines. All
will be now changed. New hospital clothing has been provided regimentally, and all the char
-
poys have been condemned and replaced by new ones. The bath-room is regularly used by the
patients. The hospital has been whitewashed inside and out during the year, and also after
the cholera epidemic, and the building is in as good repair as its nature admits of.
Sickness,
mortality and
in validing.
XV Sickness, mortality and invaliding.—Strength of the regiment :—
Present
. . .
657.5
Absent . . .
52.7
Total . . .
709.12
STATION.
PERIOD,
TOTAL NUMBER OF
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH
P E RA N N U M .
From
To
Strength.
Ad
m i s -s
i o n s . Deaths.
Daily
average
number
of sick.
Admis -
sions. Deaths.
Daily,
average
number
of sick.
Head-quarters, Dehra . . . 1st January . . . 18th November 655.2
414
17
22.9
71.3
2.9
3.4
Head-quarters on march and
Camp of Exercise . . . 18th November 31st December
529.2
87
. . .
19.12 139.2
. . .
3.6
Depôt at Dehra . . .
Ditto
Ditto
139.6
4
1
10.1
23.7
. . .
7.23
Total . . .
. . .
. . .
657.5
5 0 5
18
2 2 . 1 3
75.28
2.73
3.36
Number of deaths in hospital, 18; out of hospital, 3; total, 21; per cent, of total strength . . .
2.96
" i n v a l i d e d . . . 2 9 ; " " . . .
4.08
" sent on sick leave . . . 7; . . .
0 . 9 8
"
of days spent in hospital, 7,827 ; per admission, 15.5 ; per man of total strength . . . 11.03
" " "
on sick leave, 910 ; per man, . . . 130 ;" "
1.25
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength . . . 1 2 .
Principal
causes of sick-
ness.
Syphilis. Mortality
XVI. Principal causes of sickness.—The total number of admissions has been. 505.
Five hundred and one at head-quarters, and four in the depôt. Had the regiment not moved, the
admissions would have probably been less, as a great number of footsores took place as usual
on the line of march. But even with this, there is an improvement over the preceding year :
520 admissions took place in 1874, and 505 during the year under report. Malarious diseases
have as usual furnished the greatest number of admissions; 132 cases of ague were admitted
and three of remittent fever. Seventeen cases of primary syphilis were treated, and four cases
of secondary disease were admitted. Eight cases of phthisis pulmonalis were admitted, three of
whom died in hospital. This disease is very common amongst the inhabitants of the outer range
of hills. Conjunctivitis shows forty-eight admissions ; this disease is at times prevalent in the
lines. On such becoming known, inspections are made by the hospital assistants amongst the
children and all cases treated. One hospital assistant visits' the lines daily.
Diseases of the respiratory organs furnish a total of 20. Two of these were cases of
pneumonia, Which terminated fatally. Ten cases of dysentery were admitted, and all treated
by ipecacuanha in large doses. Hepatitis shows 13 admissions and three deaths. The
total of admissions was largely increased by 53 cases of footsor
e .
XVII. Mortality.—The mortality this year has been somewhat large; but when the
nature of the diseases causing it is taken into consideration, such result will scarcely create