103
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
MEERUT DIVISION.
XV. Sickness, mortality and invaliding.—Strength of the Regiment—
Present . . . 633.58
Absent
.
.
.
65.58
TOTAL . . .
699.16
STATION.
PERIOD.
Strength.
TOTAL NUMBER
O F
Daily
average
number
of sick.
PER CENT OF STRENGTH
PER ANNUM.
From
To
Admis-
sions. Deaths.
Admis-
sions. Deaths.
Daily
average
sick.
Head-quarters at Meerut . . . 1st January . . . 2nd March . . . 664
88
6
16.31
79.2 5.38 2.45
Head-quarters at Camp,
Delhi . . . 3rd March . . . 3rd April . . .
475.95
32
. . .
4.29
76.4
. . .
0.90
Head-quarters at Meerut . . . 4th April . . .
31st December 561.92
373
6
12.52 89.1
1.5
2.22
Depôt at Meerut . . . 3rd March . . . 3rd April . . .
215.5
6
. . .
9.36
31.9
. . .
4.34
Detachment at Umballa . . . 1st November 31st December 263.12
51
. . .
2.0
116.1
. . .
.78
TOTAL . . .
633.58
550
12
14.91 86.81 1.89 2.35
Number of deaths in hospital, 12 ; out of hospital, 2; total, 14; per cent. of total strength . . .
2
" i n v a l i d e d . . . 3 5 ; " " . . .
5
" s e n to
n s i c k
l e a v e . . . 1 4
; " " . . . 2
" of days spent in hospital, 5,499; per admission, 10; per man of total strength . . . 7.86
" " on sick leave, 1,779; per man, 127.07; " " . . . 2.54
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength . . . 10.40
There is a very remarkable difference between the sickness of the year under review and
that of 1874, there being a decrease from the former year of no less than 1,059 admissions.
Surgeon-Major Perkins states in his sanitary report for 1874, that the "sickness in 1874
has been excessive, and the mortality far exceeded that of other years."He offers no opinion
as to the cause of this unusual sickness in the regiment during 1874, but notes that the
level of the subsoil water is very high in this station, and that the defective drainage and
water-logged state of the soil Were probably the chief causes of the general ill-health of the
station.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness.—The principal causes of sickness have been, in the
order of prevalence:—Paroxysmal fevers, 253; dysentery, 48; ulcer and boil, 42; blisters of
the feet, 35; injuries, 33; affections of the respiratory system, 25, including 2 from phthisis
pulmonalis; and splenie affections, 20.
Principal
causes of sick
-ness.
An outbreak of phagedænic ulcers, which took place towards the end of the year, deserves some
notice here. On my taking over temporary charge of the regiment in November, Deputy Surgeon
-General C. Manners Smith drew my attention to the nature of these ulcers, six of which were
under treatment at the time. Mr. Smith remarked that he had seen a similar outbreak at Agra
in the 36th N. I., which outbreak is graphically described by Surgeon A. B. Strahan, in the
Indian Medical Gazette, vol. II, for 1875. These ulcers were all of the same kind. Situated on
the lower extremities, generally in front of the tibia, or over one or other of the malleoli, circular
in outline, with hard smooth edges as if they had been chiselled out of the skin, the surface covered
with a pale slough, which on removal disclosed pale flabby granulations showing little or no
healing power. In every case they followed a slight abrasion of the skin, abscess, or small
pimple. The men who were the subject of these ulcers had had fever in the preceding autumn,
and had fallen into a weak anæmic state of health, all of them having spongy gums. Treatment
in the open air having been considered desirable by Mr. Smith, they were treated in a tent, with
evident benefit. All received iron, quinine, lime-juice, and as generous a diet as they could
afford. One case was treated with large doses of potass. iod. and quinine, in addition to the lime
juice, with good effect. Locally.— Zinci chlorid. in paste potassafusa, a m i x t u r e o f d r y c o f f e e
and atta, and dry earth, were all used to remove the sloughs. I was induced to try the
application of dry earth from the excellent effects which I saw by its use for huge sloughing
sores among the convicts at Port Blair, Andamans, under the hand of Surgeon Major
Dougall. The dry earth acted more quickly and pleasantly than any of the other applications.
After removal of the slough, the ulcers were treated with lotions of sulphate of zinc, boracic
acid, and carbolic acid. Skin engrafting was not attempted in any case.
XVII. Principal causes of mortality.—Fourteen deaths occurred during the year. Of
these, 7 were caused by malarious fevers, 5 by affections of the lungs, 1 by general debility, and
1 by small-pox. All the fatal cases of remittent fever, of which there were 4, were complicated
with congestion of the lungs or brain.
Outbreak of
phagedænic
ulcers.
Treatment.
Action of dry
-earth.
Principal
causes of mor
-tality.