Medical notes on China / By John Wilson.

  • Wilson, John, 1788-1870
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medical notes on China / By John Wilson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    Ini'go sick ]ist, 421 cases being entered for treatment; the propor- tion of the employed sick was 130 per cent. This, though a large proportion, is not so large as that of some other ships similarly- employed. Of the whole number, 246 were cases of intermittent fever, 103 quotidian and 143 tertian; she had also 59 oases of remittent, making 305 cases of periodic fever. There were 30 cases of intestinal flux, 26 diarrhceal and four dysenteric. Three cases terminated fatally, wliich is in the ratio of not one per cent- of strength. At the beginning of October, 138, being more than two-fifths of her complement, were under treatment; since that date, there has been considerable reduction ; but yesterday there were still 115 on the list, mostly cases of convalescence from ague. The Childers, similarly employed during the same period, had still a larger proportion sick ; it was, indeed, larger than that of any other ship in the same service, large as most of them were. She had 300 placed on the surgeon's list, being in the proportion of 250 per cent, of her strength. This is an excess of disease, which is seldom witnessed, and which, when it happens, seldom passes without inflicting a heavy loss. Yet only one case—a dysenteric—terminated fatally. There were 124 cases of inter- mittent—40 quotidian and 84 tertian—besides three of remittent fever. The cases of flux amounted to 100, of which 30 were diarrhceal and 70 dysenteric. At the beginning of October, there were 46 men on the Hst, 40 of them with tertian intermittent. In the Vixen steam-vessel, similarly employed dui'ing the same period, the ratio of sick was nearly 100, that of dead being 2.5 per cent, of her strength. Of the total number of cases, there were 88 of intermittent fever, and 23 of flux, besides 13 of con- stitution; making 124 of the prevalent form of diseased ac- tion. October 22nd. — Keceived into hospital 49 men of the 98th regiment, with disease, and in condition, similar to that of the 50 received three weeks ago. Almost all are suflFering severely from intermittent fever of considerable duration, or flux, single.