144 



CHAMBERLAIN. 



average monthly admissions for all diseases was 420.5 in 1908, 393.9 in 

 1909 and 341.5 in 1910. Since beriberi was causing an average monthly 

 admission of over 50 in 1908 and 1909, while the average was only 4 

 in 1910, it is evident that the average monthly admissions for all causes 

 other than beriberi was not materially lower in 1910 than it was in 1909. 

 That the reduction in beriberi among the Scouts in 1910 is not 

 coincident with a corresponding lessening of beriberi cases in the gen- 

 eral population in the Philippines may be inferred from the following 

 table of death rates which was furnished us through the courtesy of the 

 officials of the Bureau of Health : 



Table VII. — Deaths from heriberi. 



Fiscal year. 



In 

 Manila. 



In 22 

 provinces 

 (popula- 

 tion 

 about 

 5,000,000). 



Total. 



1906 



406 

 403 

 492 

 924 

 1,002 

 911 



2,228 

 1,377 

 1,180 

 1,765 

 1,395 

 (") 



2,634 



1,777 

 1,672 

 2,689 

 2,397 



1907 .- 



1908 - 



J909 . . . 



1910 



1911 (first half) 







1 Not obtainable. 



It should be noted that the rates in Tables VII are for fiscal years 

 while those in Tables IV and V are for calendar years. Also that the 

 rates for Manila, 1911, are only for half a fiscal year and correspond to 

 the calendar period of June to December, 1910, a period when the ad- 

 mission rate for the Scouts was practically nil. We do not attach much 

 absolute importance to the figures in Table VII because the death rates 

 for the general population of the Philippines, even in Manila, are notori- 

 ously unreliable for beriberi as well as for other diseases. We do feel, 

 however, that the rates are, relatively, as reliable for 1910 as for the 

 few years preceding and that therefore any extraordinary reduction in 

 the incidence of beriberi in 1910 would have been mirrored in these 

 figures which show a decided increase rather than a decrease in the death 

 rate for the calendar year 1910 in Manila. 



The number of cases of beriberi among the Philippine (native) Con- 

 stabulary, furnished through the courtesy of Major S. C. Guerney, are as 

 follows: 1908, 52 cases; 1909, 193 cases; 1910 (11 months), 61 cases. 



The occurrence of cases by months for 1910 is shown in Table VIII 

 and compared with admissions for same months among the Scouts. 



