Epidemics.
Vaccination.
Recommend-
ations.
Special
remarks.
PUNJAB FRONTIER FORCE.
191
XV. Sickness, mortality, and invaliding. —Strength of the regiment—
Present .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
657.86
Absent .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
83.70
Total
.
.
735.56
Sickness,
mortality, and
invaliding.
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.
Daily
average
sick.
Head-quarters at Dera Ghazi
Khan
.
.
.
.
1st January . 31st December 372.93
459
4
15.91 123.08 1.07 4.26
Detachment at
Quetta,
Khelat
.
.
.
.
Ditto
.
Ditto
. 267.11
534
4
14.16 199.91 1.49 5.30
Detachment at Mungrota . 26th February 30th April . 23.00
...
...
. . .
...
. . .
. . .
„
„
Mungrota .
3rd July
. 7th September 23.00
1
0
.11 23.69
0
.48
„ „ Mungrota . 4th November 30th December 23.00
1
0
.16 27.83
0
.69
Total
. lst January . 31st December. 651.86
995
8
30.12 152.64 1.22 4.62
Number of deaths in hospital, 8; out of hospital, 6; total
14; per cent. of total strength .
.
1.90
„
invalided
.
.
.
.
.
.
22.
„ „
.
.
2.99
„
sent on sick leave
.
.
.
.
.
.
19.
„
„
.
.
2.58
„
of days spent in hospital, 11,174; per admission
. 11.23 ; per man of total strength .
.
15.19
„ „
on sick leave, 2,910; per man
. 153.15;
„
„
.
.
3.95
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength .
.
19.14
XVI.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness.— Nine hundred and ninety-five admissions to hospital
took place during the year, as compared with 955 in 1876, 931 in 1875, 1,082 in 1874, 1,062
in. 1873, 1,245 in 1872, and 1,305 in 1871. The head-quarters at Dera Ghazi Khan were very
healthy, only 459 men being admitted to hospital: this was due to the entire absence of the usual
autumnal fevers, the daily sick during the fever months never being over 16. At Quetta the
detachment there gave 534 admissions during the year, and these were principally due to fever
and dysentery occurring in the months of September and October, the daily sick list of three
companies going up as high as 46. Fevers, chiefly ague ( a), caused nearly half of the total
admissions. Dysentery and diarrhœa caused 84 and 25 admissions respectively, as compared
with 48 and 51 in 1876, 40 and 25 in 1875, 50 and 35 in 1874, 52 and 37 in 1873, 95 and 61 in
1872, and 59 and 57 in 1871. Most of the cases of dysentery occurred in the Quetta detachment,
where the disease was prevalent during September. Chest affections caused 129 admissions; of
these, 75 were due to bronchial catarrh, which was very prevalent here in the beginning of the
year and at Quetta. Pneumonia caused 21 admissions, bronchitis 32, and pleurisy 2. The other
principal causes of admission were abscess, 36; colic, 33, rheumatic affections, 34; and contusions
of the extremities, 26.
XVII.
XVII. Principal causes of morlality.— Eight deaths occurred in hospital (four at head
quarters and four at Quetta). Of the eight deaths in hospital, four occurred from pneumonia,
one from bronchitis, one from ague and dysentery, one from chronic Bright's disease, and one from
scrofulous disease. Six deaths occurred out of hospital. One man at head-quarters committed
suicide by shooting himself through the neck with his rifle. A sepoy was cut down by the
Pathans during the émcute at Quetta. Two men died whilst on sick leave of remittent feve
r and enlarged spleen; one died on furlough, cause unknown ; and one on board a river-steamer,
cause also unknown.
XVIII. Epidemics.—None.
XIX. Vaccination.— All the recruits were vaccinated during December, except those who
had been protected by previous vaccination or small-pox. Regiment fairly protected.
XX. Recommendations.— As a rule, all necessary recommendations were made verbally, and
always carried out.
XXI. Special remarks.—The following table shows the death-rate per cent. of total
strength of the different classes composing the regiment for the past eight years.
Principal
causes of
s i c k n e s s .
Principal
causes of
mortality.
CLASS.
TOTAL DEATHS PER CENT. OF TOTAL STRENGTH.
Average of
previous 5
years.
1875.
1876.
1877.
Rajputs
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1.30
6.52
2. 04
3.57
Sikh
.
.
.
. .
. .
.
.
3.72
3.75
1.70
1.36
Dogras
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1.68
...
4 . 7 6
2.08
Punjabi Mussulmans
.
.
.
.
.
.
3.41
1.38
...
3.52
Pathan
.
.
.
.
.
.
1.52
3.22
2.17
Other Mahomedans
.
.
.
.
.
.
2.05
2 . 2
2.56
. . .