16
30 seers proved sufficient for an ordinary-sized room; for small rooms 15 seers were
sufficient. The temperatures were not recorded, but vermin of all descriptions were found
dead on the floors of the rooms after the operation. The fuel was always allowed to burn
completely out before the stove was removed. More time was required to desiccate a house
than to disinfect it by chemical means. The cost was certainly less, but the difference was
not great. Excluding labour the cost of desiccating a room of average size was Re. 0-10-6
against Re. 0-12-9 for chemical disinfection; 567 rooms were desiccated.
Infection.
Mr. Charters, the District Plague Medical Officer, remarks that the human agency
always seems to have been the chief factor in
the conveyance of infection from one place to
another and in the dissemination in infected
places by means of contact. In only one instance was it brought to light that rats were dying
in a place prior to the outbreak of plague, and this was at the village of Hussainpur, two
miles from Rewári Town, which was infected much later than many villages further away
from the town. In Rewári Town and elsewhere in the tahsil rat mortality was observed to
follow some time after the outbreak of the disease among human beings. Dead rats were
invariably found in infected houses, and in many instances in the beds of plague cases.
Although the part played by rats was impressed upon the people, they made but little attempt
to destroy these animals.
Monkeys, dogs, jackals and cats were also found dead round about Rewári. Vultures
were found dead near a few plague-stricken villages, and this was put down to their
having fed on the bodies of cases which had been imperfectly buried and subsequently
unearthed by jackals. No attempts were ever made to destroy rats.
Type.
The bubonic type of the disease was the most prevalent. Hindus, Baniás, Mahájans
and metal workers suffered the most. In
Rewári Town according to the returns the
incidence was greater among men than women,
but this may have been due to the concealment of female cases.
In addition to the Civil Surgeon and his subordinates and Assistant Surgeon a
Hospital Assistant was sent to the district for plague duty.
DELHI DISTRICT.
27. There was no epidemic in this district, but 10 cases of plague were imported
into Delhi City, all of whom were suffering from the disease on their arrivals. They were
treated in their own houses which were chemically disinfected and the disease did not
spread.
All cases were reported by the members of the Municipality representing the wards
in which they occurred.
There being only imported plague cases in the Delhi Town, no special Medical
Staff was detailed for plague duty, which was performed by the District Medical Staff con-
cerned in addition to their own.
A few cases suspected to be plague occurred in the camps of the Coronation Darbár.
KARNAL DISTRICT.
Epidemic.
28. The epidemic under report is the second that has visited the Karnál District :
2,457 plague cases occurred with 1,701 deaths,
as compared with 566 cases and 333 deaths
recorded in 1901-02. The epidemic grew very slowly and reached its climax in the third
week in April, after which it rapidly declined.
Preventive measures.
No efforts whatsoever were ever taken by the inhabitants of the district to prevent
plague from coming into their towns and
villages, nor were persons coming from an
infected area ever refused access to a village.
Returns of plague occurrences were obtained in towns from Municipal Muharrirs and
in the villages from the Patwárís in accordance with the regulation : the returns of
Patwárís were not very reliable.
Evacuation.
One village, Tikri, was completely evacuated, in another village evacuation was
checked by the theft of cattle.
Segregation.
Neither sick nor their contacts were ever segregated, and medical treatment was
never applied for.
Disinfection.
Chemical disinfection was not popular, and only 983 rooms were chemically dis-
infected, most of which were in the village of
Tikri mentioned above, which was completely
disinfected. Phenyle was used for disinfecting personal effects, but it was never used