17
Captain E. Wilkinson, I. M. S., was appointed as Chief Plague Medical
Officer with effect from March 2oth, 10,02. He had previously discharged the duties of
this office in addition to those of Deputy Sanitary Commissioner and continued to do so
until July ist, when he was relieved of the latter duties by Lieutenant W.F.Harvey,
I, M. S. From July 9th to October 6th, 1902, he officiated as Sanitary Commissioner.
Financial.
33. In Maternent No. 12 Appendix E) is shown the direct expenditure on plague
operations in certain districts of the Punjab :
details of certain districts including Lahore and
Ludhiána are not available. The figures, it should be stated, were obtained from Plague
Medical Officers and Civil Surgeons and refer chiefly to expenditure in connection with ,
measures with which these officers were more immediately concerned.
Table No. 7 showing the Expenditure on Plague Operations in British
Districts
of the Punjab from October Ist, 1901, to September 30th, 1902.
Heading.
Administration
...
Evacuation
Cordon and Guard ...
...
...
...
Disinfection
...
...
...
...
Isolation and Hospital
Inoculation
...
...
...
Miscellaneous
•••
...
...
Total
Rs.
58,122
1,861
3l2
88,354
3,895
33,276
9,579
1, 95,402
A.
9
10
11
3
1
15
7
11
P.
4
8
10
8
3
5
6
8
!t will be seen that expenditure was greatest in connection with Disinfection, that in
connection with Administration coming next, then that in connection with Inoculation.
Recommendations.
34. A number of recommendations and suggestions concerning plague administra-
tion by various officers are given in the
portions of the report which deal with dis-
tricts separately, but are epitomised below.
All are agreed as to undesirability of compulsory measures, though many would
give large power to the people in ord,er to enable them to take measures to protect
themselves against the introduction of infection by persons coming from infected places.
Some would extend the right of refusing access to such persons to the smaller municipali-
ties which partake more of the nature of villages than of towns, while all are agreed as to
the benefit of evacuation. Some would offer every inducement to the people of villages
to resort to it by the provision of huts for the very poor—and for the cattle—and would
provide guards for evacuated houses ; others would leave the arrangements for evacuation
entirely to the people themselves, trusting to the well-to-do to provide for the wants of
ihe poor.
Certain officers recommend thé exercise of compulsory powers when but for an
insignificant minority a whole village would be evacuated and one officer proposes to
•charge such minority for all guards over property left in evacuated villages.
Nearly all officers, Civil and Medical, consider that the chemical disinfection of
•villages except in the very earliest stage of infection should be discontinued. The measure
is unpopular and the expense is out of all proportion to the results attained. Some officers
would abandon disinfection by official agency altogether even in towns, but these form a
very small minority.
While disapproving of chemical disinfection by official agency, most officers point out
the desirability of some method of disinfection that could be applied by the people
themselves Some recommend desiccation, others} the free distribution of phenyle or
some similar disinfectant the use of which the people understand and appreciate.
Opinions regarding the value of inoculation as a means of dealing with out-
break of plague are unanimous—many regarding it as the most valuable of all such
jneasures, and most advocate the provisions of facilities for inoculation,
A few officers recommend the grant of a subsistence allowance of a few annss daily
to such persons as are too poor to afford enforced idleness for a day or two following in-
oculation,