Report of the Principal Civil Medical Officer and Inspector-General of Hospitals / [Ceylon].

  • Ceylon. Civil Medical Department.
Date:
[1913]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Principal Civil Medical Officer and Inspector-General of Hospitals / [Ceylon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Spleen Census. Number examined Total enlargements .. Spleen rate ., 9G,118 24,743 25-74 The following are the figures in the separate Western Province Central Province Northern Province .. Southern Province Eastern Province North-Western Province Province of Uva Province of Sabaragamuwa North-Central Province Provinces :— Number Total Spleen Rate Examined. Enlargements. Per Cent. . 15,246 127 •83 . 14,600 2,566 17-57 7,958 2,769 34-80 . 10,467 1,589 15-18 6,277 3,218 51-26 9,413 5,328 56-60 6,390 2,810 43 • 97 8,129 1,595 19-62 . 17,638 4,741 26-68 96,118 24,743 25-74 10. Cholera.—The total number of cases which occurred during the eighteen months period was 123, of which 91 died ; 117 of these occurred in the Western Province, beginning in and around Colombo (except 17 which occurred in Ragama Camp at an earlier period). The disease broke out in Grandpass, extended to Hendala, the Lunatic Asylum, Panadure (1 case), Moratuwa (1 case), Negombo (10 cases), and Peliyagoda. Of the remaining 6 cases, 1 occurred on an estate in the Gampola District, and the source of infection could not be determined, and the remaining 5 occurred in the village of Asmadola, in the Kegalla District, Sabaragamuwa. In the remaining six Provinces no cases occurred. Three vessels infected with cholera were dealt with, each returning only 1 case :—(1) and (2) ss. Bangala from Tuticorin was infected on two occasions ; (3) ss. Bharata from Tuticorin. Of the 3 cases, 2 died at sea and 1 was treated in the infectious diseases hospital. 11. Smallpox.—Only 6 cases were treated, with 1 death. Of these, 3 occurred on Sunnycroft estate with 1 death, and the disease, which was brought from Ragama, was confined to one line. Only 1 case occurred in the Western Province, as against 58 in the previous period. In the Central Province only 1 case occurred, as against 175 in the period covered by the previous report. The figures show a sudden and gratifying absence of the disease. 12. Enteric Fever.—834 cases were treated in hospitals in the Island; of these, 304 occurred in Colombo hospitals, with 94 deaths (not including the Jail and Municipal hospitals). In addition to the above total cases, 178 were reported by the rural medical officer, all of which were seen by him, and every precaution taken to prevent the spread of the disease. Pamphlets were issued, premises were disinfected, and free disinfectants were issued to the poor. Of the total cases, 271 were treated in the General Hospital, Colombo, with 69 deaths, 23 in Moratuwa with 10 deaths, 39 in Kalutara with 8 deaths, 12 in Galle, 37 in Kandy with 6 deaths, and 8 in Nawalapitiya with 3 deaths. It would appear that the lack of, or faulty, conservancy is largely responsible for the dissemination of the disease. 13. Dysentery.—The value of Dr. Leonard Rogers’ discovery of emetine in the treatment of amoebic dysentery is already proving inestimable to Ceylon, despite the fact that the drug has no effect on the bacillary type. Nevertheless, it appears also to be effective in some of the unclassified types and of pseudo-dysenteries, an example of which is that of which anchylostomiasis is the basal cause. A further investigation into such cases will determine the value of the drug in the treatment of other cases than the purely amoebic. The drug is now in use in all hospitals, where it is administered hypodermically with excellent results. In the form of keratin-coated tabloids it is being supplied for mouth administration to dispensaries and estates. The disease is prevalent all over the Island, particularly in the planting districts and in and around Colombo ; in the former consequent upon unprotected and polluted water supplies, and in the latter wherever shallow unprotected wells are in use. 9-76 per cent, of the total were treated in the Colombo General Hospital, and the total number of cases treated in the other Govern¬ ment hospitals was 4,365 with 1,124 deaths. There were 471 cases with 12 deaths in jail hospitals : 170 cases with 11 deaths occurred in Borella Convict Hospital (a very marked decrease from the previous twelve months period, when the figures were 299 cases with 22 deaths); 145 with 4 deaths in Kandy jail, as compared with 90 with 8 deaths in the previous period; and 52 with 1 death in Jaffna jail, as compared with 52 and 7 deaths in the previous period. Dysentery and diarrhoea are more common than any other disease in the jails, but in the period under review both the disease incidence and the mortality rate have markedly decreased, particularly in the Colombo jails. 1,138 admissions were recorded in jail hospitals with a mortality of 38. In the Colombo jail hospitals 387 cases of both diseases were treated, with 19 deaths (4*8 mortality), as compared with 758 cases with 57 deaths (7'5 mortality) in the previous twelve months period. 14. Leprosy.—644 cases of leprosy were treated in the Government medical institutions during the period under review, with a mortality of 71 ’93. A few lepers are confined in the hospital at Kalmunai (Eastern Province). It is proposed to establish a leper colony on the island of Mantivu, Batticaloa District, to accommodate those lepers who are now at large. Cases were admitted to Hendala from every Province, the total admissions during the period being 204. 136 cases were reported in the Western Province; of these 70 were admitted to Hendala. 15. Anchylostomiasis.—This disease is very markedly on the increase, and is rife not only among estate labourers, but among the Sinhalese village population. In hospitals alone 10,669 cases were treated, with 1,517 deaths. A comparison with a previous eighteen months period which is available, namely, 1910-1911, shows the numbers then treated in hospitals to be 8,372. During the twelve months period covering the last Administration Report 4,576 cases were treated in hospitals. The lack of a conservancy system is one of the chief factors in the spread of the disease.