PNEUMONIA AND RHEUMATISM
I shall speak of conjointly. In the symptoms or treatment we could not observe any difference from the same diseases as they occur in Europe. If these diseases were less violent than we have seen them in Europe, they had more of the inflammatory, diathesis than in India.
It was not till after the army had been sometime in Lower Egypt, that either of these diseases appeared.
In the first general weekly return in November, there appear a total of six cases of pneumonia, and nine of rheumatism.
In the first week of December, there were twelve cases of pneumonia, and seven of rheumatism.
In the first weekly return of January, both diseases appear to have increased; there were twenty-four cases of pneumonia, and twenty of rheumatism.
In the first return of February, there are thirty-four cases of pneumonia, of which number, twenty were Europeans. Of rheumatism, there were fifteen, and only eight of them were Europeans.
In March, the first return presents only five cases of pneumonia: of these, three were Europeans; but, of rheumatism, there were twenty-seven cases, and nineteen of them were natives of India.
In April, there were sixteen cases of pneumonia, and only five were Europeans. Of twenty-five cases of rheumatism, eleven are Europeans.
The warm clothing and bedding provided by the General for the natives of India, in the cold months, no doubt protected them from the attacks of pneumonia and rheumatism. The latter disease was found to be more prevalent in the Bengal battalion of Sepoys than in any other corps.