263
7. On the death of a patient, the body was removed at once to the mortuary for
which a temporary shed was erected in the premises far away from the wards. There
is an independent out-going passage from the mortuary away from the wards and
the main road, so that no patient could observe the taking away of the corpses. The
mortuary could admit light, but not crows or other birds. The bodies were kept in
galvanized sheets separated from each other so that caste prejudices could be pre-
served. The floor was kept clean, and was thoroughly disinfected as often as necessary
with Chloride of Lime and Phenyle. The dead body was never allowed to remain
for more than a few hours. The corpse was wrapped in a sheet soaked in Perchloride
of Mercury solution, and then handed over to the friends or relations for being taken
to the cemetery. With regard to the bodies of the pauper patients when they
happened to be Brahmins, the Brahman Community had made their own arrange-
ments for removal and disposal. When the bodies happened to belong to other
castes, without any friends or relatives to take care of, they were disposed
of by Mahratha servants of the Hospital in a hand cart with springs specially
presented for the purpose by Sheth Damordur Goverdhandas Lukhadwalla, the
expenses being borne by the Hospital.
8. Of the cases admitted into the hospital, information in regard to their being
previously inoculated with Haffkine's serum was obtained in only 2 cases. The exact
date of their inoculation is not known, but it was ascertained, when they were living
in the Hospital, that the inoculation had been done during the previous year and not
this year. One of them died and one has recovered.
9. Amongst the staff of the hospital only one person suffered from plague.
He was a ward boy coming to the hospital premises only for his duty. He must have
got the infection in the town, at his residence on Tardeo Road, where some of his neigh-
bours had died of plague. He died four days after the infection.
A clerk in the Municipal service at the Sonapur cemetery, who served at the
hospital during 1897 and 1898 as a clerk, was infected about a month after the
opening of the hospital. Though he was in no way connected with the present hos-
pital staff, he volunteered his assistance to the staff during his leisure and on that
account he was often allowed to live on the premises. As regards the source of the
contagion, nothing definite can be said as he worked at the Sonapur cemetery for
nearly ten hours every day, and was not bound to stay on the premises of the hospi-
tal. The only thing that could be ascertained about his case was that he must have
been infected through the cracks on the soles of his feet because it was observed that
he was always in the habit of walking bare-footed. Under these circumstances, it is
much more likely that the source of his contagion must be outside the hospital
premises, particularly because great care was taken to thoroughly disinfect the
wards, the latrines, the clothes, the beddings and blankets of the patients, as often
as necessary. In fact no possible source of contagion was left uncared for, and
no other member of the staff living on the premises had any sign of the contagion
during the whole period.
TABLE I.
10. Total admissions during- the year 1899.
Mouths.
February
March
April
May
Plague.
25
131— 2=(129)
79
17
Relapsing fever.
Nil.
11
Observation cases
including all gene-
ral diseases.
1
2
1
9
Total.
26
133—2 (131)
80
26