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22
ss. " Caledonia " had 77 cases of " Influenza " during her voyage from
Bombay between the 7th October and the 27th October, the latter date being the
date of arrival.
The number does not exhaust the list of infected persons. I have subsequent
notifications from the ship and from the Seamen's Hospital.
These notifications from the Seamen's Hospital of men taken there from the
ship on arrival show that the subtertian parasite was in their blood.
I have notice of two similar findings in two cases landed at Marseilles from the
ship and a further notification on the 12th December, of a Benign Tertian case.
The outbreak was almost entirely confined to those of the crew occupying
quarters on the starboard side of the ship. The passengers were not affected.
Most had " recovered " at the time of arrival. Those who were still ill were the
cases notified as malaria and suggest, together with the fact that the starboard
side of the ship was alongside the quay in Bombay, that the majority of the cases,
if not all, were Malaria.
Vomiting seems to have been a prominent symptom in the attacks.
Malignant Malaria—subtertian—from India is not the commonest form.
If this were an epidemic of subtertian malaria the mis-diagnosis on the ship points
the rarity hitherto. It is an important subject for inquiry in Bombay.