Those embarked in the Fancy, were not so fortunate; few of the men there escaped the disease. Of eight officers of the 88th, three caught it. Mr Bruce, then the assistant surgeon, was one of these: he had a worm in each leg. The Fancy was obliged to return to Bombay; most of the men were disabled by this disease; and the season was too far advanced for her getting up the Red Sea.
Among the 86th regiment in the Hope, only three cases occurred; and one of the two officers of the 88th, on board, was one of them.
I find, by my case-books, that in the part of the 88th regiment which continued in the Minerva, the disease appeared as follows:
| From the 9th to the 24th December, | 6 | cases on the passage to Ceylon. |
| From the 25th Dec. to 14th Feb. | 4 | ditto at Ceylon, on shore. |
| From the 15th to the 28th Feb. | 39 | ditto at sea, after leaving Ceylon. |
| In March | 103 | ditto at sea. |
| In April | 39 | ditto at sea. |
| In May | 8 | ditto at sea, till landing at Kossier. |
| Total of cases | 199 |
I have purposely excluded the cases which occurred in the 88th, on board the Fancy, or among the 86th regiment.
The disease was pretty uniform in the manner of its appearance. The patient was first sensible of an itching; and, on looking at the part, generally observed a small blister: sometimes I have seen three or four small blisters, and the part having the appearance of being stung with nettles. When the blister was snipped, a piece of mucus of the breadth of a sixpence was seen underneath, which being removed, the head of the worm was seen. It was in general firmly attached, and required force to detach it from the parts underneath. When detached with the forceps, we twisted it round a ligature or piece of lint, and thus, often on the first day, succeeded in extracting a foot, or even two, of the worm. It resembled much what is called bobbin, and was about the same size. It was transparent and moist, a white liquid being seen in it. We continued, daily, extracting as much of it as would come out with gentle pulling. It was always dangerous to pull strongly, for fear of breaking the worm: it then occasioned the most acute pain, and there followed much swelling, with inflammation of the neighbouring parts, sometimes of two or three weeks continuance, when the worm would shew itself at another part, as at first, with itching and a blister.
It seldom appeared to be deeply seated; generally, under the cutis, or among the tela cellulosa, when we could often trace it in its course, and sometimes see it: sometimes it was under the fascia, and but seldom among the muscles.
If not ushered in with fever, it was almost always attended with it in its course: when there was considerable inflammation, it ran very high. In seven cases, mortification took place, and very large sloughs were cast off. In a few cases, there was a very considerable and alarming hæmorrhage.