Lost in transition: influenza in the British army in the 1830s and 1840s.

This paper uses surgeons' reports from the 1830s and 1840s to investigate routine regimental medical care by focusing on a familiar, non-fatal disease. The regimental reports are used to describe the classification of influenza and the use of antiphlogistic regimen to treat the disease. Also discussed is how the surgeons reconciled the rapid spread of influenza with the predominant causation beliefs of the time. Furthermore, the patterns of influenza morbidity in the early middle 19th century are discussed, adding to the understanding of the historical epidemiology of this genetically variable virus.

The role of morbidity in the mortality decline of the nineteenth century: evidence from the military population at Gibraltar 1818-1899.

The causes of the nineteenth-century decline of mortality, characterized by lower mortality rates and increased longevity, have been the subject of debate among researchers for the past half-century. Because of a paucity of reliable data, little is understood about the role of morbidity, or illness episodes, in the mortality decline. This article introduces the results of a study that looks at the relationship of morbidity in the mortality decline during this portion of the epidemiological transition. The data are comprised of hospital admissions and deaths collected by the British army on the soldiers of the Gibraltar garrison from 1819 to 1899. Morbidity dropped during this period, but at a slower rate than mortality, and all categories of disease did not fall in concert; in some categories, morbidity rose as mortality dropped. Statistical modeling is used to analyze the categories of diseases that were most influential in the decline of mortality in this group. This research shows that there are discernible relationships between morbidity and mortality and that the two parameters are responding to different driving forces. Because changes within the military medical system may have had an effect on the relationship of the morbidity and mortality rates of the soldiers, surviving medical reports are used to reconstruct the medical care of the troops during the study period.

A matter of privilege: infant mortality in the Garrison Town of Gibraltar, 1870-1899.

The British colony of Gibraltar offers an opportunity to compare the infant mortality rates of the civilian and military populations inhabiting a small-scale urban setting from 1870 to 1899. Both groups shared the same poor-quality housing, the same sanitary infrastructure, and the same environmental inseparability. Sufficient water supply, in particular, proved to be a daily struggle for the families living on the Rock. Privilege for the military meant that service families had preferential access to a pure water supply after the installation of a water-condensing plant as well as to a better quality supply of water and milk. The availability of these privileges to one group, and not the other, is associated with a marked decline in infant mortality in the second half of the study period.