Statistical report of the epidemic cholera in Jamaica / by John Parkin.

  • Parkin, John, 1801-1886.
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Statistical report of the epidemic cholera in Jamaica / by John Parkin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    35/82 (page 21)
    i-cmembei-injv also the iliffcrencc in the type, or mtensity of tlie disease, it will not bo surprising if the result obtained by me in Jamaica is less tuvouBable than that which followed the same mode of treatment in Eurdfe; or which those who have read the Reports of the Spanish, physicians, contained in my work, might have been led to anticipate.* With these few remarks, I will now proceed to show what the rate of mortality and recovery has been in Jamaica ; and, in so doing, shall first state what the result was in each locality visited by me, and then; calculate the general result of all the cases that I attended. By a reference to Table VII., inserted at the end, it will be seen that, there were 100 cases treated in the town of Lucea. Of this number 16 died, and 84 recovered, being exactly 16 per cent. In giving the above list, the names of those patients that 1 saw and prescribed for at the dispensary, amounting to 60 or 70 of rice- water-purging, have been omitted, as no book was kept there for the entry of such cases. As the probability is that I shoidd have been- sent for, had the disease proceeded to the next stage, as was the fact in many instances, we may conclude that the majority of these cases were recoveries. If so, another 50 ought to be added to the amount of recoveries before given, which woidd diminish the rate of mortahty again, making it 10 instead of 16, and raise the proportion of reco- veries to 90 instead of 84, t As, however, the actual number of recoveries and deaths is uncertain, I shall take the former ratio as the basis of my calculation, instead of the latter. In order to ascertain if the above result be favourable or unfavour- able, it is desirable to have some standard to which to refer ; derived, not from other towns or other visitations, but from the very spot in which the disease prevailed. As, however, the majority of the patients were attended by the district visitors, who made no retm-ns, and, as those sent in by the other medical men were imperfect, it is impossible to ascertain what was the general proportion of deaths to cases. But as 31 per cent, of the gross population perished, and as we may presume that two-thirds of those attacked died—a calculation within the mark, for there were, I believe, but few recoveries before my arrival—the rate of mortahty would amount to 66 per cent. There is, however, as was remarked in the Report just referred to, another standard to which perhaps it would be fair for me to refer, viz., the cholera hospital. Now, it will be found, by a reference to the hospital returns, that there were 185 admissions, 124 deaths, and 6] discharges. Of these, 8 appear to have been taken out again uncured, or before the * In Mr. Balfour's interesting pamphlet, it is stated that of 377 cases, which occurred La the Madras N. I., the mean duration of the disease, before admission into hospital, was 5 hours, 2 minutes, 4 seconds. It appears, further, that the average dnration of the fatal cases was 5 hours, 41 minutes and 20 seconds, while it was only 4 hours, 28 minutes and 12 seconds with those that recovered. The differcuce, tliereforo, of 1 liour, 13 minutes and 8 seconds decided the question of life or death. t Extract from the Eeport sent in by me to the Hauovor Board of Health, on the termination of the epidemic.