Medical/Dental Affairs

19. The daily average number of patients seen at the Battalion Aid Station was 19.5.  Of these 40 were admitted to the ward for further treatment and/or observation.  Forty-four were referred to Company ‘B’, 3^rd Medical Battalion; twenty-nine of these being admitted for further treatment.  Dental referrals numbered 40.
20. Prevalent and significant diseases encountered, with the rate of incidence, are as follows:
21. Bronchitis – 1
22. Diarrhea, acute – 27
23. Respiratory infection, acute – 8
24. Gastroenteritis, acute – 17
25. Gonorrhea – 4*
26. Urethritis, venereal – 2*

*      Contacted while on R&R

1. No emergency situations were encountered this month.
2. A large shipment of syringes was received in the latter part of the month.  However, these will be quickly exhausted as routine battalion immunizations proceed.  Injectable penicillin continues to be in short supply and practically no dermatological preparations exist.  As previously noted, cough syrups and expectorants are not available from any source.
3. The total number of inoculations administered during the month of February was 1900.  Plague, cholera, typhoid and Gamma Globulin were the serums most extensively used.
4. The month approximately 3400 Vietnamese civilians were treated by MEDCAP personnel.  In addition to the hamlets of An Hai and Xuan Trung and the islands of Ky Hoa and Ky Xuan, the village of Diem Pho was visited for the first time and 200 individuals treated.  The most common conditions encountered were simple hypodermal and respiratory infections.   Very few serious diseases were encountered.