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

  • Ceylon. Civil Medical Department.
Date:
[1902]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

    17/128 (page 7)
    4 Plague.—The Plague'Committee is a Standing Committee consisting of the following members:— The Hon. the Principal Collector of Customs (Chairman) ; K. W. B. Macleod, Esq. (Secretary) ; the Hon. Mr. F. R. Ellis, C.M.G. ; the Hon. the Government Agent, Western Province ; the Principal Civil Medical Officer ; and the Mayor of Colombo. It has held regular meetings, and has revised from time to time the precautions instituted to combat an outbreak of this disease. This Committee is in reality a Port Sanitary Board, and any subject affecting quarantine and infectious disease arriving in Colombo is dealt with by it. All returns of plague from infected ports are received by the Committee, and telegraphic accounts of plague occurring in places adjacent to Ceylon are received regularly. The staff of Port Surgeons performed their duties with intelligence and promptitude, and were ever on the alert to discover disease among the arrivals at this port. Notwithstanding the strict supervision maintained, the travelling public from infected ports have not been inconvenienced, and no harsh or exasperating rules have been promulgated to interfere with their comfort or to prevent their landing. The disinfection of their baggage and of soiled linen has been well carried out by means of two Thresh’s steam disinfectors. The shore disinfecting station has been most useful. Galle continued to be the plague port; only one case of this disease was reported from the Harbour of Colombo during the year. The patient contracted the disease at Hongkong and was landed and isolated at Galle, and the contacts for this port were placed in quarantine. The patient recovered. Rat destruction was carried out at the Customs premises and by the Municipality of Colombo and at Galle. A Clayton fire extinguisher for the disinfection of ships’ holds by means of sulphurous acid gas arrived, but was not in working order. All minor ports, with the exception of Kayts in the North, likely to be visited by native trading vessels from India, have been closed, and this arrangement has worked most satisfactorily. As a precautionary measure steam patrol boats have been employed round the coast. The immigrant cooly traffic has not been interfered with, and several batches arriving from plague-infected parts of India have undergone the necessary period of quarantine at Ragama Camp, when, after proper disinfection of themselves and belongings, they have been drafted to their several estates. III.—GENERAL. Medico-Legal Duties. During the year 1902, 230 analyses were conducted, of which 106 were judicial .analyses, 33 were samples of kerosine oil, 8 were samples of fuel oil, 4 were samples of beer, and 26 were samples of water, spirits, &c., from His Majesty’s Customs, Local Boards, and the Railway Department, and 53 were samples of water conducted at the request of the Government. Of the 106. judicial analyses, 64 were undertaken for the detection of poisons and 42 for examination of stains. In the poisoning cases arsenic was detected in 8 analyses, mercury in 2, canabis indica in 10, morphia in 2, strychnine in 2, silver nitrate in 1, lead in 1, zinc sulphate in 2, acid sulphuric in 1, soda sulphate in 2, croton oil in 1, turpentine in 1, sandalwood oil in 2, and in the rest of the analyses no poison was detected. A synopsis of the analyses for the year in a tabular form is herewith annexed: — Synopsis of the Analyses for 1902. Total, 230. Fees, Rs. 1,829*25- ’ i Judicial 42 106 ^ 64 Mammal blood detected in No blood Arsenic Mercury Canabis indica Morphia Zinc sulphate Soda sulphate Silver nitrate ' Acid sulphuric Strychnine Lead Croton oil Turpentine Sandalwood oil No poison Kerosine oil .. Fuel oil ... ... ... ... ... Beer ... ... ... ... ... Water, spirits, &c., from His Majesty’s Customs, Local Boards, and Railway Department Analyses for Government purposes ... ... 28 ... 14 ... 8 ... 2 ... 10 ... 2 ... 2 ... 2 ... 1 ... 1 ... 2 ... 1 ... 1 ... 1 ... 2 ... 29 Total ... 106 ... 33 ... 8 4 26 53 • •• • • • Total ... 230 Administrative : Hospitals and Asylums. During the year 1902, 67 hospitals and asylums were in operation, against 66 the previous year. A district hospital at Maturata was opened during the year. Numbers treated.—In the Civil and Lying-in Home Hospitals there were 43,973 cases treated, with 3,698 deaths, being 24 cases more and 521 deaths less than in the preceding year. The daily average sick was 1,652*51, as against 1,647*40 the previous year. In the Field Hospitals there were 4,426 cases treated, with 171 deaths, against 4,680 treated and 1^6 deaths during the preceding year. The daily average sick was 179*46, as against 184*29 during the previous year. The number treated in the five Imoiigrant Hospitals was 1,855, against 2,047 in the previous year. Of the total treated, the deaths numbered 84, or 6 less than the preceding year. The daily average sick was 73*49, as against 84*45 the previous year. In the District Hospitals 14,928 cases were treated, against 14,816 during the preceding year. There were 2,510 deaths, as against 3,511 in the previous year. The daily average was 792*41, against ®14*27 the previous year.