144
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL.
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
XV. Sickness, mortality and invaliding.— Strength of the regiment—present 625.4;
absent 67.7; total 693.1.
STATION.
PERIOD.
S t r e n g t h .
TOTAL NUM-
BER 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 .
PERCENTAGE OF
STRENGTH PER
ANNUM.
From.
To
Admis-
sions.
D e a t h s .
A d m i s s i o n s . D e a t h s .
Dai l y aver -
a ge numbe r
of si ck.
Head-quarters at Talagang 1st January
1874.
8th November
1874.
582.02 513
2 9.75 103.11 0.39 1.67
„ l i n e o f m a r c h
to Rawal Pindi
9th November
1874.
15th Novem-
ber 1874.
555 29
13.85 272.18
2.49
„ at Rawal
Pindi.
16th Novem-
ber 1874.
31st Decem-
ber 1874.
555.50 56
9.34 80.53
1.69
Detachment at Attock
1st January
1874.
16th March
1874.
118.79
5
1 1.79 20.44 4.03 1.50
„ Talagang
9th November
1874.
31st Decem-
ber 1874.
150
16
4.42 73.40
2 . 9 5
TOTAL
625.49 619
3 10.7 98.96 0.46 1.71
Number of deaths in hospital, 3; out of hospital; 2, total 5; per cent. of total strength .72
„ invalided, 22; „ „ „
3.17
„ sent on sick leave, 4;„ „ „
0.57
„ of days spent in hospital, 3,910; per admission, 6.31 per man „
„
5 . 6 4
„ „ „ on sick leave 255; per man 63.75; „ „ „
0.36
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
6 . 0 0
Prevalent
diseases.
Fevers.
Seasonal
prevalence.
Effect of
alternation
of tempera-
ture.
Chest diseases
.
Deaths.
Epidemics.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness.—Malarious fevers, by which the station is
annually visited, constituted the chief sources of admissions into hospital. The invasion of
the malarial influence observes a remarkable regularity as to the time of advent, action,
and decline: commences about the 15th to 17th September; operates most severely in October;
begins to decline about the 15th of November, and finally ceases about the close of that month.
The extent and energy of its operation do not appear to depend absolutely upon the aggregate
amount of rainfall during July, August, and September, but to be governed rather by a re
- l a t i v e e x c e s s t o w a r d s t h e e n d o f S e p t e m b e r a n d f i r s t w e e k o f O c t o b e r ; f o r , o n c o m p a r i n g t h e
statistics of this year with those for 1873, the balance is very decidedly on the side of the
last year (1874), both as regards the number of admissions for malarious fever, and its less
severity. On the other hand, the aggregate rainfall was much greater than in 1873, but was more
equally distributed over the months of July, August and September; whereas in 1873, rain fell in
greatest quantity towards the end of September and first week of October. The great contrast
between the day and the night temperatures appears to account for the higher prevalence of
fever during October and the first half of November, as compared with the first fortnight (viz.,
from the 15th September to 30th), for all other conditions supposed to have an influence in the
causation of malaria are more actively in operation during the last named period. The sudden
depression of temperature at sunset, and its continuous fall during the night, must predispose
to the occurrence of fever. Surgeon J. S. Gunn, in the report of 1873 (last para., at p. 145)
appears to have correctly indicated the modus operandi of this meteorological condition as a
predisposing cause of malarial fever. The autumnal fever of 1874 was of the mildest type, and,
excluding a few cases of splenitis, was uncomplicated. The fever was in many instances
of so mild a character as not to incapacitate from duty, and was allowed to take its own
course without medical treatment; the men appeared pallid and weakly during the period of
greatest prevalence of fever. The returns cannot therefore be accepted as an accurate measure
of the extent of operation of the malarial influence.
A constant and notable feature in the vital statistics of regiments stationed at Tala
-gang since it was first established, is the small percentage of admissions for acute inflamma
-tory affections of the air passages, lungs and their appendages. The mildness of the autum
- n a l f e v e r , a n d i t s s e q u e l æ i n c o n s e q u e n c e o f w h i c h t h e v i t a l r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e o p e r a t i o n o f c o l d
and to the influence of the great difference of the day and night temperatures is not seriously
impaired; the cheapness of food supplies, which offers no inducement to under-feeding, and
the comparative exemption of Talagang from the chilling winds which so generally prevail
in regions north of the Jhelum during the months of December and January, may supply a
probable explanation of this immunity.
XVII. Principal causes of mortality.— Five deaths have been reported during the year—
two occurred at the head-quarters' hospital at Talagang. One in the person of a musician,
Wuzeera, with a history of hereditary phthisis. A second death was occasioned by homicidal
gun-shot wound of the abdomen, with wound of protruded viscera. One death took place in
detachment hospital at Fort Attock, in the month of March, from remittent fever. Two
deaths occurred out of hospital, one front valve disease of the heart on the 1st March
while on medical certificate at his home. The second, in a young soldier, named Hyder Khan,
at his home on temporary leave from causes which were not reported.
XVIII. Epidemics.—None.