Principal
causes of
sickness.
Principal
causes of
mortality.
Epidemics.
Vaccination.
Recommend
-ations.
Special obser
-vations.
Field
hardships.
Medical
officers.
Location and
movements.
Lines.
Latrine.
Water-supply
154
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness.— Ague gave 511 admissions; dysentery 56; bronchitis
51; muscular rheumatism 28, and blistered fee
t 26.
XVII. Principal causes of mortality.— Ague caused two deaths; the bursting of a shell
killed two men; simple continued fever, bronchitis and diarrhœa caused one death each, and
two men died at their houses, the cause being unknown.
XVIII. Epidemics.— There were no epidemics during the year.
XVI. Vaccination.— Besides 56 recruits, 4 children were also vaccinated,—all successfully.
XX. Recommendations.— All recommendations have been attended to.
XXI. Special observations .—Notwithstanding the year 1877 having been the third year
spent in Peshawar, the regiment has been fairly healthy, the daily average sick per cent of strength
being less than for 1876, and slightly below the average for the five years ending 1875.
During the month of December, in common with other regiments of the Jowaki field
force, the 20th Punjab Infantry suffered great hardships, particularly in the rainy days which
were frequent in that month, On one of these occasions the men, being without tents or
bedding, were obliged to pass two nights of heavy rain in wet chogas and poshteens, but in spite
of this the admissions to hospital were comparatively few, clearly showing that their constitu
-tions and powers of endurance are good.
22nd (Punjab) Regiment, Aatibe Infantry—Deshawar .
I. Medical Officers.— The medical charge of this regiment underwent
seven changes during the
year. Surgeon P. Mac
-pherson Grant, M. B., who
joined the corps on the 30th
of November, writes the
annual report.
YEAR.
STATION.
PER CENT OF. STRENGTH.
Admissions. Deaths. Daily sick.
1872 . . . Jhelum, April 1872 . . .
284.2
5.1
8.5
1873 . . .
Ditto . . .
99.
.7
2.8
1874 . . .
Ditto . . .
6 6 . 6 .58
2.1
1875 . . .
Ditto . . .
86.53
.43
2.27
1876 . . .
Ditto . . .
159.99
1.3
3.9
Average . . .
139.26
1.62
3.91
1877 . . . Peshawar . . .
200.04
1.71
5.20
The lines occupied were those vacated by the 30th Punjab Native Infantry.
The huts are too close to each other, and therefore ill-ventilated. The female
lines are still worse, and nothing but demolition and re-erection can remedy
their defects. Additional surface drains have been made. The present latrine
is in ruins, but the trench system is about to be established.
VIII.Water-supply.— Open drains which pass through the station conduct the water
from the Bara river to the lines. The water is consequently open to pollution of all kinds
throughout its entire course, and contains much vegetable debris and other impurities. This,
however, will soon be remedied, as I understand the Peshawar water-supply scheme operations
is in active progress. The following means have been taken to improve the drinking-water
of the men, with the effect of at least removing the visible impurities. A covered shed has
been erected; in this is placed a rough filtering apparatus consisting of two barrels filled with
sand, charcoal and gravel placed on the ground level, and five smaller barrels sunk into
the ground into which the filtered water flows as in the accompanying sketch.
II. Location and movements.
— T h e r e g i m e n t a r r i v e d i n P e s h a w a r
from Jhelum on the 4th January,
and remained in cantonments
throughout the year, with the
exception of 17 days, when it
formed part of the Jowaki field
force. Detachments were supplied
to the outlying forts as shown in
p a r a g r a p h X V .
The water to be filtered is taken from a diggee which serves the purpose of a subsidence
tank, and which is placed alongside. This is protected from falling leaves, dust, &c., by a
covering of matting. The sand, &c., in the barrels is changed from time to time, and the
diggee is occasionally cleaned out.