8

REPORT ON THE

Principal causes of
admission.

    The principal causes of admission into these hospitals all seem to be fevers, bowel
complaints and injuries; and the principal causes of death, fevers, bowel complaints, injuries,
cholera, phthisis and tetanus. The number of deaths from dropsy, debility and spleen disease
in the Pauper Hospital is remarkable. The number of cases of typhoid fever treated in
the same institution is very remarkable if the diagnosis has been exact. There are three
diseases which demand more particular notice, namely, small-pox, cholera, and venereal
disease. For the prevention of small-pox and venereal disease, elaborate and expensive
arrangements have been made, and the diminution of cholera in Calcutta within the last two
years is a well known fact. The cause of this decrease is a subject of immense importance.

Small-pox.

STATEMENT No. VII.

       6. Small-pox is represented by
two cases treated in the General
Hospital, one of which remained
from 1870. The return in the margin
shows the number of deaths from
this disease registered in Calcutta
during the last four decades. The
very remarkable diminution of
deaths since the year 1866, and the
question of how far this result is
due to the impetus given to vaccin-
ation by the terrible outbreak of 1864–65, will be fully discussed in the vaccination report.

Cholera.

STATEMENT No. VIII.

       7. The prevalence of cholera in Calcutta during the years 1863—71 is shown in the
marginal statement, which is ex-
tracted from Dr. C. Macnamara's
paper in the Indian Medical Gazette
already referred to. The figures, of
whose accuracy there is no doubt as
far as the hospitals are concerned,
leave no question whatever regarding
the remarkable and, I believe, unpre-
cedented diminution in the preva-
lence of this terrible disease. The
two most prominent circumstances
which have coincided with this
result are the provision for Calcutta
of a pure water-supply and the partial draining of the town. General sanitation has also been
improved, but there is still room for great reform in this respect. Whether these are the true
causes of the decline of this disease, future years and future experience will declare with certainty.
Meantime, the cases which do occur in an isolated and fitful way present a better subject of
careful inquiry regarding their causation than when the disease was more common; and it is
matter of great regret that such inquiry is not instituted under the orders of the Municipal
Authorities whenever an isolated case or a limited outbreak occurs.

Venereal disease.

STATEMENT No. IX.

       8. There can be no doubt that the number of cases of both primary syphilis and
venereal disease of all kinds has decreased within
the last two years. This is shown in the
abstract marginally quoted, which is a total of
the returns of the following hospitals:—Medical
College Hospital, Native Hospital and its affilia-
ted dispensaries, North Suburban Hospital, and
the Sukea's Street, Alipore, and Bhowanipore
Dispensaries. These returns were submitted to
the Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals by