Principal
causes of
mortality.
Epidemics.
Vaccination.
Recommenda.
tions.
200
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL.
STATION.
PERIOD.
Strength.
TOTAL NUMBER
OF
Daily
average number
of sick.
PEE CENT. OF STRENGTH
PER ANNUM.
From
To
Admis- sions. Deaths.
Admis- si ons Deaths. Daily
average sick.
Head-quarters at—
Dera Ismail Khan
1st Jan. 1876 14th Mar. 1876 642.05 155
40.25 119.40
6.36
Ditto
29th Mar. " 20th Oct. " 476.86 429
21.59 159.78
4.52
On march to Delhi
20th Oct. " 31st Dec. " 567.47 210
1 11.56 185.50 . 85 2.03
Detachment at
—
Zam outpost 1st Jan. " 7th Apl. "
71.00
8
2.27 42.05
3.19
Ditto
2nd July
10th Oct. "
70.48 10
.85 5.42
1.20
Girni outpost
2nd April " 7th July "
74.68 14
.89 70.71
1.19
Ditto
12th Sept. " 19th Oct. "
33.59
4
.68 114.71
2.05
Dera Ismail Khan
15th Mar. " 28th Mar, " 170.04 12
14.90 184.57
8.76
Depot Dera Ismail Khan 20th Oct.
31st Dec. " 158.73 101
11.99 319.02
7.55
TOTAL
625.3 943
1 24.70
1 5 0 . 8 1
. 1 6
3 . 9 5
Number of deaths in hospital 1; out of hospital 5; total 6; per cent. of total strengh
0.81
" invalided 21; " ". 2.84
" s e n t o n s i c k l e a v e
1 0 : " " 1.35
" of days spent in hospital 9,040; per admission 9.58; per man of total strength 12.24
" " o n s i c k l e a v e 1 , 3 4 6 ; p e r m a n 1 3 4 . 6 ; " " 1.82
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
14.06
Principal
causes of
sickness.
Medical
Officer.
Location and
movements,
Topography
and physical
geography.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness.—I ntermittent fevers and their consequences caused,
as is usual, by far the greater number of admissions. Bowel complaints give the next greatest
number. While the regiment was in cantonments, there were not many or serious cases of
lung affections, but they became more prevalent on the march to Delhi. The men employed
on duty at the outposts appeared to enjoy very good health, as the admissions were few and
the cases not very serious. One man got sunstroke when. on the relief march to Zam, and
died at Tonk. The small detachments at Sheikh Budin were very healthy. Frontier sores
and pneumonia were conspicuous by their absence, at least from-the time that I got charge
of the regiment.
.XVII. Principal causes of mortality. —One man died on the march in hospital at Meean
Meer of acute bronchitis. Two others died of the same disease having been left behind on the
road in other hospitals. Two men died of sunstroke,—one on furlough, the other at Tonk; and
One man was drowned at Dera Ismail Khan while bathing in the Indus.
XVIII. Epidemics,—No epidemic prevailed in the regiment during the year. There
was a limited outbreak of cholera in the city of Dera Ismail Khan; only one case occurred in
the cantonment,—that of the band master of the 2nd Sikhs and. the 2nd Punjab Infantry; he
died after a short attack.
XIX. Vaccination.—There was no small-pox, and no vaccination in the regiment during
the year.
XX. Recommendations. —It was recommended that the time of relieving the outposts
should be changed from July to a month or so before or after, in consequence of the heat both
day and night during that month. I believe this change will be effected. When the regiment
was in camp, it was recommended that straw should, when necessary, be supplied to the men
for bedding, and this was done.
•
2nd Regiment Punjab Infantry—Dera Ismail Khan.
I. Medical Officer.—Surgeon Joshua Duke held charge of the re
-giment during the entire
year, and has submitted the
following sanitary report
:—
II. Location and movements.
—The regiment has been station
- e d a t D e r a I s m a i l K h a n
during the whole year, with
the exception of a few days
in the month of . March when
it proceeded to Tonk Zam, a
frontier outpost, for inspection
by Brigadier General Keyes, C.B.
III. Topography and physical
geography.—The subject has been
touched upon in previous reports.
The only subject calling for re-
mark is the change in the course of
the river Indus, which, in 1875, was cutting away all before it and had approached within 200
YEAR.
STATION.
PER CENT OF STRENGTH.
Admissions. Deaths. Daily sick.
1871
Kohat, Nov. 1868 from
Abbottabad.
198.6
2.3
6.6
1872
Dera Ghazi Khan, Jan.
1872
175.8
2
6.1
1873
Ditto
173.3
1.9
5.1
1874
Ditto
194.1
1.2
4.8
1875
Dera Ismail Khan, Jan.
1875
131.2
2.5
4.3
Average
174.6
1.98
5.38
1876
Dera Ismail Khan 132.5
.42
3.41