Reprints of articles contributed to medical journals, 1895-1909 / by John D. Gimlette.

  • Gimlette, John D. (John Desmond), 1867-1934
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Reprints of articles contributed to medical journals, 1895-1909 / by John D. Gimlette. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    83/160 (page 79)
    for instance, only eight cases of this disease registered, with two deaths, a mortality which was trifling when compared to an appalling death-rate of 79’99 per cent. (187 deaths out of 234 cases), as I had known it in one of the mining districts of a neighbouring State [6]. Towards the close of the year, however, the general health of the Sokor district was far from satisfactory, malaria was very prevalent in the mining camp, which, had always been topographically unfavourable to health. Special attention was accordingly paid to sanitation, and some expense as well as much trouble was incurred in trying to render the camp more healthy, but it was, nevertheless, unsatisfactory to report, at the end of June, 1905, that a number of cases of beri-beri had occurred. There had been 37 cases with 7 deaths. The coolie gangs had been increased by about 100 men as compared to 1904, bringing the whole strength up to 400 Chinese. Among them were a number of inexperienced new comers from Singapore, who had been engaged by a Chinese contractor in May under conditions similar to those of the “ Singkheh ” or indentured Chinese labourer of the Straits Settle- ments. The bad health of the “ one year contract Singkheh ” is notorious in the Malay Native States, and these new arrivals in Kelantan suffered, as might have been expected, considerably more than older “ Lowkhehs ” or time expired Singkhehs would have done. Twelve of them died from various causes in a very short time, six of them from beri-beri in July. Many of these untrained Chinese were lodged in some newly-erected coolie lines, and it was thought at the time that they were being affected by reason of a somewhat extensive disturbance of the soil which was found necessary when erecting their buildings. As beri-beri has been thought by some to have an indefinite connection with disturbance of the soil in the Tropics [7], stress was laid on this fact; greater