PUNJAB FRONTIER FORCE.
179
•
XV. Sickness, mortality and invaliding.—Strength of the regiment : present, 610.60 ;
absent, 113.09 ; total, 723.69.
STATION.
PERIOD.
Strength.
TOTAL
NUMBER OF
D a i l y a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f s i c k .
PRE CENT. OF
STRENGTH PER
ANN UM.
From
T o
Admis-sions.
D e a t h s .
Admi s- si ons.
De a t h s .
D a i l y a v e r a g e s i c k .
Head-quarters at Dera Is-
mail Khan.
1st January
1874.
12th January
1874.
Ditto at Panialah
... 13th January
1874.
6th February
1874.
516.18
1 , 0 9 0
7 23.32 211.16 1.35 4.51
Ditto at Dera Ismail Khan 7th February
1874.
31st Decem-
ber 1874.
Detachment at Zam
... 1st January
1874.
31st Decem-
ber 1874.
52.26 37 ...
1.38 70.79 ... 2.64
Ditto at Jutta
... 1st January
1874.
31st Decem-
ber 1874.
24.82 33
1 0.73 132.95 4.02 2.94
Ditto at Sheikh Budin ... 13th June
1874.
4th July
1874.
47.90
9
1 0.79 105.74 12.08 1.64
Ditto at Sheikh Budin ... 16th Aug.
1874.
25th Septem-
ber 1874.
Ditto at Dera Ismail Khan 13th January
1874.
6th February
1874.
129.
44
1 14.08 497.86 11.24 10.91
TOTAL
...
...
. . .
610.60
1 , 2 1 3 10 26.72 198.65 1.63 4.37
Number of deaths in hospital, 10 ; out of hospital, 5 ; total, 15 ; per cent. of total strength ... 2.07
" invalided
50
; " " "
. . . 6.90
„ sent on sick leave
4 ;
" " "
. . . 0.55
" of days spent in hospital, 9,753 ; per admission 8.04 ; per man of total strength ... 13.47
" " "
on sick leave 459 ; per man 114.75 ; " " "
. . . 0.63
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
. . .
... 14.11
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness. —The principal causes of sickness have been fevers
579, ulcers and boils 92, blisters of feet 55, chest affections 41, dysentery 47 and diarrhœa 33.
It will be seen from the above that fevers form more than half the sickness. During the
past year, as a rule, they were of a very mild type, except among the recruits, who, being
strangers to the Derajat climate, suffered considerably, and a good many of them had to be
discharged as unlikely from sickness to become efficient soldiers. Ulcers and boils form the
next largest portion of sickness. There have been 92 cases during the year. These ulcers, or
"frontier sores" as they are generally designated, occur in the hot weather months—very
seldom in the cold season.
As the "sore" is almost entirely a painless one at first, and generally throughout it is
difficult to see one at the very beginning ; and the first appearance that is detected is a small
depression, such as may be caused by making a hole in dough with a pin on a slightly elevated
ground, which is of a dark-blue color, extending three or four lines all round.
If left to itself, the "frontier sore" remains in this state for some time, when it suddenly
enlarges ; and this has given rise to the theory that it is caused by some insect which deposits
its eggs in the skin, and that when they become matured the sore enlarges. Whatever the
cause, these ulcers are very difficult to cure. Nor can any one plan of treatment be relied on
in any two cases. The treatment that is good in one is useless in another, and it is only by
repeated changing that a cure is hit upon ; then, one mode of treatment will be most efficacious
for perhaps a week, when it will become utterly useless, and one has to resort to something
else. The "sore," though apparently oval (long axis following that of limb), is very irregular
along the edges, which present a beaded appearance. These small elevations are of a whitish
color, and are also found to form the bottom of the ulcer. When accompanied with pain, it
assumes a very angry appearance
.
The skin becomes dusky, and redness extends some distance into the skin beyond ; the small
elevations at edges and bottom of sore lose their whitish color and become red and swollen.
In this stage they are best treated with light poppy-head poultices and saline cathartics. As
a r u l e , t h e " s o r e " i s a n i n d o l e n t o n e a n d a l mo s t i n v a r i a b l y r e q u i r e s c a u s t i c s , p o t a s s a f u s a
being the most reliable, its use being required every third day for some time before the
"sore" becomes a healthy one. Once having assumed this character, its treatment is much
the same as an ordinary ulcer. Among the local applications are carbolic acid, iodine,
rhubarb paste, zinc and gunda baroza, lime juice, &c. In nearly all cases I have found a
small compress strapping and bandaging necessary ; internally, alteratives, lime juice, potash,
strychnine and arsenic, are beneficial.
C h e s t a f f e c t i o n s i n t h e D e r a j a t a r e v e r y c o m m o n a n d f o r m t h e c h i e f c a u s e o f m o r t a l i t y .
During the year, of the 10 deaths which occurred in hospital, six were from pneumonia. Some
of them strong men, came to hospital complaining of pain in the side of chest, difficulty of
breathing and slight cough, and died in a few days. The weak man When attacked has very
little chance of recovery.
Principal
diseases.
"Frontier
sore."
"Frontier
sore."
Cause.
Treatment.
Chest affec-
tions.