Sessional_Paper_1894 — Page 402

398

The diseases they were suffering from are classified thus:-

Venereal.......

Dyspepsia (generally alcoholic)

Influenza

Malarial Fever

Dysentery

and the rest singly from other diseases.

14

10

In the one fatal case the cause of death was Tubercular Disease of the lungs and intestines. The Influenza cases all occurred in the months of October, November and December.

23. INFLUENZA.--There were 17 cases under treatment during the year, all of the endemic variety. 24. TYPHOID FEVER.-There were 13 cases under treatment during the year with 2 deaths, of these one was carried forward from the previous year, of the remainder 5 contracted the disease in Victoria, one at Kowloon, one in Canton, one in Japan, and the other four were admitted from ships. This is by far the largest number of cases of Typhoid admitted to this hospital for years.

25. Cholera.-There were only 2 cases under treatment during the year, these both recovered. One, a European sailor, was admitted from the S.S. Tellus, on 19th July, with a history of cramps, incessant diarrhoea and vomiting for the past twenty-four hours. He was in a critical condition for a few days, but eventually recovered and was discharged cured on 8th August. The second case, also a sailor, was admitted on 16th September, with a much milder attack. He was discharged cured on the 19th September.

26. DYSENTERY.-There were 50 cases admitted suffering from this disease with 1 death.

27. MALARIAL FEVERS.-The total number of cases under treatment was 356, as compared with 286 in 1892, of these 275 were of the Intermittent Type, and 81 of the Remittent Type. As I had the satisfaction of reporting last year there was again no death from this class of diseases in 1893.

Two of the most severe cases are reported in Appendix 4, both these occurred amongst the European members of the Police Force, when convalescent they were sent at the expense of the Government to Japan in order to recruit their health.

28. BERI-BERI.-There were 17 cases during the year with one death.

29. VENEREAL DISEASES.-252 patients were admitted as against 232 in the previous year. There were 48 cases of Primary Syphilis and 20 of Secondary Syphilis as against 19 and 27 respectively in 1892. It must be borne in mind, however, that in many of these cases the disease is contracted out of the Colony, a large number undoubtedly originate in Japan.

30. HYDROPHOBIA.-One case of Hydrophobia, an employee at the Dock, was admitted on 5th January and died on the 8th January. From the history of this patient it appears that he was bitten by a fox terrier pup six months previously, the wound was promptly cauterised at the time. On the 5th January, he complained of pains about the limbs and joints and was admitted to the Hospital; on the following day, the 6th, undoubted symptoms of Hydrophobia developed, curare and morphia were injected subcutaneously and at first seemed to control the paroxysms, but as these proved futile recourse was had to the administration of Chloroform the strength of the patient being meanwhile maintained by nutrient enemata. Notwithstanding all that was done the patient rapidly became worse and died early on the morning of the 8th January, syncope probably induced by spasms of the heart being the immediate cause of death.

During the first three months of the year no less than eleven cases of dog-bite were brought to the Hospital. One a Chinese boy t. 11, was admitted on the 1st January, and discharged cured of the bites on the 12th January; enquiries were made as to the future history of this case and it was ascertained that he was sent to the Tung Wah Hospital, and from the particulars given by the authorities there I have no doubt that he died of Hydrophobia. Another case, a Chinawoman aged 62, was admitted on the 6th January suffering from severe dog-bites and discharged cured on the 24th January. She was taken to the Tung Wah and died there on the 4th February of Hydrophobia. On the 7th January, I wrote in officially drawing the attention of the Government to these facts and recommending that all stray dogs should be destroyed and suggesting the advisability of some such law being passed with reference to the importation of dogs into the Colony as is in force at Singapore (see my letter No. dated 7th January, 1893).

As a result of the Ordinance enacted by the Governor making provision for regulating the keeping of dogs and for the prevention of the importation and spread of rabies, I have the pleasure to report that during the later half of the year there has been no case of Hydrophobia either in this hospital or in any other institution of the kind in the Colony, and the number of cases of dog-bites has consider- ably decreased. During the first six months of the year there were 15 cases of dog-bites treated as against 5 in the latter six months of the year.

31. INJURIES.—There was a considerable diminution in this class of cases, the numbers being 137 with 7 deaths, as against 190 with 8 deaths in the previous year.

32. SURGICAL OPERATIONS.-There were 153 operations performed during the year with 6 deaths as against 136 with 10 deaths in 1892.