Volume 2

Reports of the commission appointed by the Admiralty, the War Office, and the civil government of Malta, for the Investigation of Mediterranean Fever / under the supervision of an Advisory Committee of the Royal Society.

Date:
1905-1907
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Reports of the commission appointed by the Admiralty, the War Office, and the civil government of Malta, for the Investigation of Mediterranean Fever / under the supervision of an Advisory Committee of the Royal Society. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    this record goes, was 25*6 per 1000 during the seven-year period 1897 to 1903. The heaviest incidence was upon FJoriana Infantry Barracks, Valetta Station Hospital, Cottonera Hospital, and Ghain Tuffieha Camp. The two* first places are specially dealt with subse- quently ; the heavy incidence upon Ghain Tuffieha Camp was occasioned by an outbreak in 1903. A large number of men annually occupy the camp for a few months during the summer only, so that an outbreak occurring amongst them raises the figure representing the annual case incidence out of proportion to the importance of the outbreak itself, because the representative figure is calculated on the average occupation during the whole year. Age and Sex Incidence could not be ascertained from the civil official returns, but next autumn figures which are now being collected for the year ending July 31, 1905, will be available. The age incidence for the garrison during 1902 and 1903 is shown as far as possible in Table IV (see page 32). The two years tabulated show considerable disparity in the number of admissions and in the resulting ratios per 1000 of strength. From the figures of the two years together, it would appear that men under 25 years of age suffer more than the average number of attacks per 1000. From 25 to 40 there is a degree of immunity becoming less with advancing years. Over age 40 the incidence again becomes severe. The deaths are too few to permit of any useful deductions being made from them. Length of Service in Malta is, as might be expected, closely connected with age in its influence upon the incidence of Mediterranean Fever, as the following table shows (see page 34). The heaviest incidence of Mediterranean Fever is upon men with less than one year's service; in fact, they are the only class shown with an incidence greater than the average incidence of the disease upon all classes taken together. The incidence upon men with over two years' service is less than half that upon men with under two years' service, and the severity of incidence continues to decrease with length of service up to five years, after which it again rises. In the last three classes shown in the table, however, the numbers dealt with are too small to carry much weight. The decrease of incidence with length of service in Malta is, no doubt, influenced to a large extent by the elimination of the more susceptible subjects. Further figures will be available next autumn. The Case Mortality amongst the civil population differs enormously in different localities, as is to be expected when dealing Avith small numbers and unreliable notification returns. Amongst the civil population of Malta, 8-9 cases per 100 attacked died during the period * Tl.ere was an outbreak of Mediterranean Fever in Floriana infantry barracks during 1903. The details were not obtained in time for inclusion in this report.