Epidemics.
Vaccination.
Recommend
.
ations.
110
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL.
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
XV. Sickness, mortality and invaliding.—Strength of the regiment—
Present
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
625.0
Absent .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
67.5
Total
692.5
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 "Imperial
Assemblage Camp" Delhie
and at Jullundur.
1st January . 31st December
483
857
9
27.06 177.4
1.86
5.60
Depôt at Jullundur
Do.
. 3rd February .
126
9
...
15.29
76.6
...
12.13
Detachment at Ludhiana . 1st February . 31st December
105
98
...
4.15 101.99
...
3.95
„
Phillour
.
.
Do.
.
Do.
.
38
51
...
1.33 146.66
...
3.50
Total .
.
. . .
...
625
1,015
9
33.45 162.40 1.44
5.35
Number of deaths in hospital, 9; out of hospital, 7; total
16; per cent. of total strength
.
2.31
„
invalided
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
25;
„
„
.
3.61
„
sent on sick leave „
28 ;
„
„
.
4.04
„
days spent in hospital, 12,209; per admission
12.02; per man of total strength
.
17.63
„ „
on sick leave, 3,836 ; per man
.
137 ;
,,
„
.
5.54
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
.
23.17
Principal
causes of
sickness.
Fever.
XVI. Principal causes of sickness.—Total admissions 1,058.—Malarious fever, 542; bowel-
complaints, 96; abscess, ulcer, and boil, 82; chest disease, 64; blister of feet, 62; rheumatism,
47; venereal, 21; eye diseases, 21; enteric fever, 2; the balance the usual diseases met with in
a regimental hospital. The malarious fever was light in type, enlargement of the spleen not
noticed as a sequence of the disease, and the number presented a very favorable contrast to
that of 1876, being less than half.
1876-Malarious fever admissions
.
.
.
.
1,172
1877—
„ „ „
.
.
.
.
.
542
Chest diseases
Venereal
diseases.
The abscesses, ulcers, and boils usually occurred in the hot weather, were simple in
character, due to the season of the year. Most of the cases of chest disease were simple
bronchitis or catarrh, induced in a great measure by the greater exposure which must
necessarily occur to men on the march or in camp. Eight cases of phthisis occurred in men
whose health had been impaired and blood impoverished by the Peshawar climate, and repeated
attacks of fever within the past two years. Blisters of the feet have been referred to in a
previous paragraph. Bowel-complaints—their causes have been detailed in paragraph XIII.
Rheumatism—result of cold and damp weather. Venereal shows a marked increase on the
previous year; 1876, admissions 9; 1877, admissions 21, excluding two cases of secondary
syphilis of long standing: 11 occurred amongst the men on detachment at Forts Ludhiana and
Phillour.
Strength. Admissions. Per cent. of strength.
Forts Ludhiana and Phillour .
.
.
.
139.
11
8.33
Head-quarters Jullundur
.
.
.
406.
8
1.65
Principal
causes of
mortality.
Though the "Contagious Diseases Act" is intended especially for the British troops,
it still shows the great protection it is to the native soldier, as in Jullundur, where it is in
Force, very few suffered from the disease; whereas at Phillour and Ludhiana, where no precau
-tions are used to prevent the spread of the disease, it is very prevalent. Eye diseases—simple
conjunctivitis, from exposure to glare and irritation of sand.
XVII. Principal causes of mortality.—Sixteen deaths occurred in the regiment during
the year, 9 in hospital, 7 out of hospital. In hospital, 3 were caused by ague; 1, a
subadar, who had completed 40 years' service, and died from congestion of the brain; the other
two were weakly men, who sank from the exhaustion of the fever—1 by enteric fever,
who had been transferred from Fort Phillour suffering from the disease; 1 by phthisis in a
Pathan; 1 by pulmonary phthisis; he died two days after admission, had contracted the
disease on furlough, and returned in a hopeless condition. Out of hospital, 7 deaths; 4 died of
phthisis while on sick leave; had been suffering from the disease when recommended for
change of air, with a hope of it being of some benefit to them; 1, pneumonia, in the General
Hospital, Hindu Rao's, Delhie.
XVIII. Epidemics.—None in the regiment. One case of small-pox occurred in canton-
ments, but it was isolated, and the disease did not spread.
XIX. Vaccination.—The regiment is well protected and all new recruits have been
vaccinated during the year.
XX. Recommendations.—The necessity of a larger cook-house and a dead-house was
strongly urged on the authorities through the commanding officer.