90
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL.
Marches and
service.
Hospital.
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
under a havildar instructor. Some of them have attained considerable proficiency in gymnas-
tics, and it has certainly tended much to increase their muscular development.
XIII. Marches and Service. —The head quarters of the regiment remained at Agra from
1st January to 21st October, when it marched to Cawnpore, and thence by rail to Serampore,
where, crossing the river Hooghly in a flat, the right wing arrived at Barrackpore on the
13th November ; the left wring proceeded direct to Alipore.
XIV. Hospital.—The hospital has been frequently described in former reports. It is a
long kutcha-built building with thatched roof, capable of accommodating 34 men.
XV. Sickness, mortality and invaliding.—Strength of the regiment—
Present
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
626.2
Absent
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
69
Total
.
.
695.2
STATION.
PERIOD.
Strength.
TOTAL NUMBER
OF
Daily
average
number
of sick.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH
PER ANNUM.
From
To
Admis-
sions.
Deaths.
Admis-
sions.
Deaths.
D a i l y
a v e r a g e
sick.
Head-quarters at Agra
.
1st January
.
21st October
.
525.9
309
2
11. 72.89
. 4 7
2.09
„ on march . 22nd October . 13th November
642.
31
...
16.3 76.86
...
2.54
Right Wing, Barrackpore . 13th November . 31st December . 370.6
58
...
12.2 119.83
...
3.29
Left Wing, Alipore
. 14th ditto
. 31st ditto
. 315.2
72
1
13.1 170.60 2.31
6.08
Detachment at Fategarh . 1st January . 16th March .
170.
31
...
3.9 87.79
...
2.29
„ at Ulwar
. 1st ditto
. 15th October .
51
17
...
1.5 42.17
. . .
2.94
TOTAL
.
.
......
. . . .
626.2
518
3
15 . 3 82 .72
. 4 8 2.44
Number of deaths in hospital 3; out of hospital 3; total
6; per cent. of total strength
.
.
.86
„
invalided
.
.
.
.
9;
„ „
.
.
1.29
„
sent on sick leave
.
.
.
8;
„ „
.
.
1.15
„
of days spent in hospital 5,538; per admission . 10.69; per man of total strength
.
.
7.96
„
„
on sick leave 587 ; per man
. 73.37;
„ „
.
.
.84
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
.
.
8.80
Principal
causes of
sickness.
Principal
causes of
mortality.
Epidemics.
Vaccination.
Special re-
marks.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness. —The principal causes of sickness have been inter-
mittent fever, dysentery, diarrhœa, and boils. Of these, 119 were admitted for ague, 90 for
dysentery, 21 for diarrhœa, and 33 for boils. With regard to venereal diseases, there were a
good many admissions, there being 22 for primary syphilis and 7 for gonorrhœa ; the disease
was chiefly confined to those men who had been on detachment duty.
XVII. Principal causes of mortalily. —This year the mortality has been less than it has
been for years past. In all there were 6 deaths, two of which occurred in the regimental
hospital, one in the left wing hospital at Alipore ; the other three men died while on sick
leave, Of the two deaths in the regimental hospital, one was due to traumatic peritonitis,
and the other to pneumonia. The death in the left wing at Alipore was due to cholera.
X V I I I . E p i d e m i c s .
— N o
e p i d e m i c s h a v e o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e y e a r .
XIX. Vaccination. —There has been no vaccination this year : a considerable number were
vaccinated last year and a great majority of the others are protected by previous attacks.
XXI. Special Remarks. — One interesting case of gun-shot wound that occurred during the year
deserves some special remarks. At about ½ past 7 on the morning of the 15th February, it was re-
ported to me that a sepoy named Goorbuccus had been shot by a sepoy named Rambuccus in the
lines. The deed was committed through motives of revenge ; the weapon used was a muzzle-load-
ing Enfield rifle. The sepoy who was fired at was at the time standing about 16 yards from, and
with his back towards, the would-be murderer ; he had his arms slightly raised in the act of buckling
his waist-belt. When the shot was fired, he gave a cry and fell to the ground and was imme-
diately taken to hospital by his comrades. When I saw him about 10 minutes afterwards,
I found him lying on a charpoy having lost a good deal of blood, and suffering from shock caused
by the injury. On examination, I found that the wound of entrance was about 4 inches below
and behind left shoulder joint. As there was no wound of exit, I carefully examined the front
of the chest and after a little time detected a foreign body beneath the skin; between the fourth
and fifth ribs, close up to the sternum. I here cut clown upon it and with some difficulty extracted
it. As it had impinged against the bone, the bullet was jagged and irregular, and the tissues
were matted and twisted around the irregularities, thus rendering its extraction more difficult.
Attached to the bullet, was a small piece of the man's red tunic which the bullet had driven
before it. As the man was suffering much from shock, I had to give stimulants of ammonia in