7
instead of that they had only 32 cases and 17 deaths, or a reducton in the death-
rate of 77.9 per cent. This death-rate would doubtless have been still further
reduced but for the fact that a very much weakened vaccine had to be used,
owing to the demand having got beyond the resources of the Laboratory at that
time.
5. Belgaibm.—Plague cases began to appear in Belgaurn—a town of
40,700 inhabitants—in October 1897, 5 deaths being reported in that month.
In November 111 deaths occurred, 156 in December, 226 in January, and 50 in
February 1898, after which an insignificant number of attacks took place, till in
May the epidemic ceased. The 26th Regiment of Madras Infantry were, during
this period, living in lines close to the Cantonment and City, and suffered simi-
larly. The first reported case among them took place on 12th November, when
Sepoy 2224, Govindaswamy, was brought to hospital and died the same day.
Next day another sepoy was attacked and also died. On the 15th a drummer
was seized, and on the 17th the disease appeared among the followers. By the 21st,
13 attacks had been reported from the lines, 4 of these being among sepoys.
On the 22nd November the companies most severely attacked were moved out
into camp, and by the 28th the whole Regiment, families, and followers had left
the lines. These were then disinfected by washing with perchloride of mercury
solution, whitewashing, and removal of tiles from the root's. During this transi-
tion period 15 persons were seized, 6 of them being sepoys. In the ten days
following removal to camp, 13 sepoys and 20 among the families and
followers were attacked. Then removal from the infected locality had its usual
effect . the cases gradually became fewer, and ceased by the end of the year.
The following table summarises the events of this period, i.e., 12th November to
31st December 1897 :—-
Among Sepoys, 34 cases, with 22 deaths = 64.7 per cent, of mortality.
„
Women, 20
„
Children, 16
„
Followers, 8
Total ... 78
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
10
9
8
40
,,
,,
,,
,,
= 50.0 „
= 56.25 „
= 100 0 „
= 62.8 ,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
At the request of Major Forman, R.A.M.C., Senior Medical Officer of the
Station, an officer of the Plague Research Laboratory (Major Bannerman, I. M. S.),
was sent to Belgaum, and commenced operations there on 24th December. No
difficulty was experienced in persuading the men to consent to inoculation when it
was explained to them that they would be free to return to their houses in the lines
after being operated on. General Rolland, Commanding the District, and for-
merly Colonel in this very Regiment, was the first to be operated on, and his
example, combined with that of the Officer Commanding, and their Medical
Officer, who were all operated on in front of the men, sufficed to convince the
sepoys of the harmlessness of the operation, and the only difficulty that then
remained was to perform the operation fast enough. All the men off duty that
day in the Hindalgi Camp (229) were operated on during the morning, and
allowed to return to their lines next day. Those in other camps and the families
were speedily inoculated and allowed to return, also. The return was complete
by the 30th December. A few more inoculations continued to be done up to
6th January 1898 among followers and children, but the community was prac-
tically completely inoculated by the end of the year. The total operated on
was 1,665, out of a population of 1,746 living in the lines at that date. The 81
not operated on were infants, women far advanced in pregnancy, and the sick in
hospital chiefly, though one solitary sepoy has, up to the present time, refused
to submit to operation.
After this date 2 cases occurred in January, the sufferers being a European
officer and a sepoy, both employed in disinfection work in the town ; they had
been inoculated and both recovered. No cases were reported for the next 6 months,
though, as shown above, the epidemic was at its height in the neighbouring
City and Cantonment in January, and the men were allowed freely to go to these
places after inoculation. That this practical immunity of the Regiment was not