5
From the above it will be seen that the death-rate in all the asylums except-
ing Dhárwár shows a marked decrease over the previous year. At Colába
there were 35 deaths (3 Europeans and 32 natives), or 6 less than in the pre-
ceding year, giving a ratio of 83.9 deaths per mille of the total population as
compared with 92.1 in 1894. The mortality among the Europeans was at the
rate of 44.8 per mille of the total population against 36.6 in the previous year,
and was due to chronic pneumonic phthisis, paralysis and Bright's disease. The
case of chronic pneumonic phthisis was in the asylum for a very long time
suffering from chronic dementia. He was much enervated by the long confine-
ment which was necessarily entailed, and the disease subsequently culminated
in tubercular deposit, and a fatal termination by chronic pneumonic phthisis
ensued. The case of paralysis was also a long resident of the asylum, and he
had been ailing from right hemiplegia prior to his admission into the asylum,
which latterly took the form of a general character and ended fatally by ex-
haustion. The case of Bright's disease was a woman who was also a long
resident and had been suffering from chronic mania with exacerbations of much
excitement and impulsiveness. She had been suffering from an abnormal con-
dition of the kidneys with dilatation of the left cavities of the heart for some
time, and general dropsy eventually intervened, rendering treatment of little
avail. Among the natives the total number of deaths was 32 against 38 in the
previous year, making a death-rate of 91.4 per mille of the total population
against 104.7 in 1894, and was due chiefly to chronic pneumonic phthisis,
dysentery, epilepsy and Bright's disease. Seven of these cases were brought in
by the police, and these were found on admission into the asylum to be suffering
from much exhaustion by privations and ailing from an advanced stage of the
disease, chiefly from dysentery, chronic pneumonic phthisis and Bright's disease
Others were more or less old residents of the asylum who had been suffering
from anœmia and debility for some time, and all such cases have succumbed to
the prevailing diseases.
At Ratnágiri the number of deaths was 3 against 5 in 1894, and the ratio
per mille of the total population was 27.8 as compared with 46.3 of the previous
year. The causes of deaths were dysentery, hemiplegia and anœmia. The one
who died of acute dysentery was indifferent in health and suffering from diarrhœa
on admission into the asylum on 29th October 1893 and was dirty and unma-
nageable. He was admitted into the asylum hospital on account of acute
dysentery on 2nd August 1895 and died on 7th idem. The case of hemiplegia
was an old man, aged 82, who was transferred from the Colába Lunatic Asylum,
Bombay. On admission he was declared to be in a broken state of health. He
suffered from dysentery on 31st July 1895 and was discharged cured on the 5th
August 1895. Again, he was admitted into the asylum hospital for hemiplegia
of right side and cerebral apoplexy on 11th August 1895 and, losing power of
deglutition, died two days after. The case of anœmia was a female who was a
dirt-eater and whose health on admission was stated to be fair. She had suffered
from hemiplegia and epilepsy of long standing and was admitted into the asylum
hospital on 16th August 1895 for general œdema to which she succumbed on
15th September 1895.
The Poona Asylum shows a decrease of 14 deaths over the previous year.
With the exception of those who died of cholera, viz. 3, most of the deaths
occurred among patients whose health had been previously in a more or less
broken-down condition, many being reported in an indifferent or a bad state of
health on admission into the asylum. Of the 18 deaths, 3 each were from
cholera, epilepsy and general paralysis, 2 each from Bright's disease, chronic
bronchitis associated with debility and malarial fevers, 1 each from chronic
diarrhœa, old age and secondary syphilis. The 3 cases of cholera occurred dur-
ing the outbreak, and directly the disease manifested itself the patients were
transferred for treatment to the Sassoon General Hospital where they died ; the
duration of the disease in the three cases varied from 4 hours to 2 days and 11
hours. Five cases, viz. 3 of general paralysis, 1 of epilepsy and 1 of albumuniria,
were admitted into the asylum in a bad state of health and were directly trans-
ferred to the sick list. 2 of these died within a fortnight of admission, 2 within
seven weeks, and 1 after six months and 20 days. The ratio of deaths per mille
to the total population was 128.6 against 217.7 in 1894.
B 2209—2