56
" Out of a total therefore of 698 plague villages, 563 were evacuated, either com-
pletely or partially, and as this evacuation was entirely voluntary on the part of the inhabit-
ants it appears self-evident that the people fully recognize the benefits of evacuation and are
prepared to accept it and utilize it as the chief plague preventive. It is, however, well
known that in most of the ' partial evacuations ' and even in some of the 'complete '
the evacuation was as has been already stated during, at any rate, the first half of the
epidemic little more than nominal. In a large number of cases the villagers, though they
had moved into camp, were continually going backwards and forwards to their houses and
even on occasions sleeping there, and it was the invariable custom to take the dying or
the dead back to their* houses and prepare them for burial inside the houses. One case,
that of the village of Raháwan which showed the most remarkable figures of 32 deaths
before evacuation and 301 deaths in camp, I have had specially investigated and I find that
all the mortality is to be attributed to the causes above mentioned : the villagers themselves
now state that the heavy mortality arose from their own fault, and that they did not know
the danger they were incurring.
" During the second half of the epidemic villagers were much more careful : they
had become aware that if they wanted, when out in camp, to keep free from the disease,
they had to cut themselves entirely free from the village or at least from the inside of their-
houses. If the present statements of the people are to be believed, there can be little doubt
that in case of another epidemic the practice of complete evacuation will be almost univer-
sal, and the outside shelters will be more substantially constructed, and a strict guard will
be kept to prevent people in camp entering the village. The difficulty of dealing with the
cattle during the months of December and January will be the only obstacle, and it will be only
temporary. It is, however, a difficulty for which there is no remedy : the people will not
during those months keep their cattle out at night, and in many villages there is no cattle
shelter except in the dwelling house itself : it is under these circumstances impossible to
expect that all intercourse with the village site will be or can be dropped : the only course
is to endeavour to make it as slight as possible. "
Segregation.
(g) Segregation of sick and contacts was observed in very few instances only, and
then only at the commencement of the
epidemic, and among Hindús, it was a point
of honour with Muhammadans to attend the funerals of all friends and relations.
Treatment.
(h) With regard to medical treatment, Dr. Fateh Chand writes :—
Nearly everywhere people preferred their own hakim and other natives, and through-
out the epidemic European method of treat-
ment was not asked for."
Disinfection.
(i) With regard to chemical disinfection
Mr. Silcock writes :—
" The main feature of the treatment of the epidemic in this district may be said to
have been the almost entire absence of disinfection as far as villages were concerned and
its entire uselessness in towns. I do not know what may have been the results in other dis-
tricts, but here it is held to be proved that the use of chemical disinfectants is only a waste
of time and money. No villagers asked for disinfectants or would have anything to say to
it in any shape or form.
" Disinfection has clearly no effect in lessening the mortality or shortening the
duration of the epidemic, and these two defects combined with the strong objection to it
manifested by the people, are in my opinion quite sufficient to cause it to be classed among
the measures that should not be taken in case of recrudescence of the disease.
" It would in fact appear to be fairly well established that during the virulent stage of
the disease it is dangerous to re-occupy a house, no matter how it has been disinfected ; while
after the virulent stage is passed, re-occupation after the very simplest disinfection is accom-
panied with very little danger. This is really what is held to be in the district the conclu-
sive argument against chemical disinfection. "
These remarks are borne out by the Civil Surgeon who, although he states that he
believes in the efficacy of chemical disinfection to destroy the infection of plague, holds
that it is of little use when carried out under the conditions which prevailed in the Ludhiána
District. Speaking of the attitude of the people towards the measure Dr. Fateh Chand
writes :—
" They made every attempt in their power to destroy the efficacy of disinfection.
They did not allow all the effects of their rooms to be disinfected either with mercury or
with phenyle, nor they were willing to sufficiently expose the articles to sun before being
restored to their places. The other bugbears in the case of houses were granaries, and
in the case of effects, valuable clothes, woollen and silken. The other block people raised
against disfection was the eagerness to get back into their houses immediately the gang
has walked out. They would not listen to any reasons, and the result was that the houses
were re-infected and had to be re-disinfected more than once. This involved waste of time
and money on the one side .and disbelief in disinfection on the part of the people on the
other."
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