The 86th, on coming into the fort of Bombay, had never had a case of the Guinea-worm; and they continued free from it till the setting in of the monsoon of 1800. The king’s barracks in the fort are close to the bazar in Bombay. Here Mr Dean, the surgeon of the 86th regiment, remarked, that the Guinea-worm prevailed very much among the natives. In the course of the monsoon, nearly three hundred cases of this disease appeared in the 86th regiment. I saw, at one time, one hundred cases of it in Mr Dean’s hospital.
The 88th regiment, from the time of their arrival in India, in June, 1799, till October, 1800, was quartered in the island of Coulabah, distant one mile from Bombay. During the fifteen months of their stay at Coulabah, only one case of Guinea-worm appeared in the regiment; and this happened, as they were about exchanging quarters with the 86th regiment, in an old man, debilitated with repeated attacks of hepatitis and dysentery. No case appeared in the 88th regiment in October, nor for nearly a month after their coming into the king’s barracks in Bombay; but, in that part of November which immediately preceded their embarkation for service, three cases occurred.
The artillery, 86th and 88th regiments, as already mentioned, were embarked, at Bombay, for the Egyptian expedition. In the course of the voyage to Ceylon, a case of Guinea-worm first appeared in the detachment of the 86th regiment, on board the Minerva; and, thereafter, six cases in the 88th regiment, on board the same ship.
On our arrival at Point de Galle, in Ceylon, we found that the disease was unknown in his Majesty’s 19th foot, among the Sepoys who came from Bengal or Madras; in the Malay corps: and, as far as I could learn, among the inhabitants. During our stay in Ceylon, a few cases made their appearance in the 86th and 88th regiments on shore. On sailing from this island for the Red Sea, only three hundred and sixty men, of the 88th regiment, with the artillery, were embarked in the Minerva. Two companies of the 88th were embarked in a small vessel, the Fancy. Another vessel, the Hope, was provided for the detachment of the 86th regiment, and two officers of the 88th were embarked with them.
Soon after sailing from Ceylon, the Guinea-worm made its appearance among the 88th, both in the Minerva and Fancy: in the Minerva, particularly, it increased with alarming rapidity. By the time we reached the Straits of Babelmandel, we were in a most alarming state. Of three hundred and sixty men, whose services we had reason to expect daily might be required, one hundred and sixty-one were at this time crippled and laid up with this loathsome disease. Though contrary to every account which I had had of the disease, many circumstances at this time led me to suspect that it was infectious, and I, at length, thought it prudent to treat it as such.
The officers remarked, that it prevailed most in particular parts of the ship, and much more in some companies than in others. This, at length, so much struck the commanding officer, that the sick were separated from the sound: the men with the Guinea-worm were all placed on the orlop-deck, and the rest of the men occupied the gun-deck. At this time, too, extraordinary precautions, regarding cleanliness and ventilation, were adopted. Much lumber and luggage were stowed away, and the space between decks, which hitherto had been lumbered with it, was made open and clear, fore and aft. The decks were daily well washed with boiling water, and the nitrous fumigation was kept constantly going on throughout the ship. Besides the usual bathing three times a week, of all on board, the soldiers were made to wash their hands and feet regularly twice every day at the ship’s head.
In a little time after adopting these measures, we could perceive the disease to diminish. The number of fresh cases reported, decreased daily; and at the time of our casting anchor in Kossier Roads, though there were on the sick list many bad ulcers from the Guinea-worm, no fresh case had appeared for some days before.
During the voyage, 199 cases had appeared from 360 men of the 88th regiment; and several cases occurred among the ship’s crew; but not a single case occurred among the artillery. This struck every one on board, very early, as remarkable; yet these men had the same provisions, drank the same water, and in every other circumstance were situated as the men of the 88th regiment, except that they were kept separate. From the outset, the artillerymen were accommodated apart, on the gun-deck, in a spot divided off for themselves. Not one of the officers, either of the artillery, 88th, or belonging to the ship, had the Guinea-worm. From the strong circumstances which in its course appeared, every officer on board was impressed with the opinion of its being contagious, and was inclined to use every precaution of prevention; from which, most probably, all escaped this filthy and severe disease.