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(2) House No. 529, Duncan Road,—This jbouse is also built of wood and
brick. The ground floor consists wholly of earth and is consequently very damp.
This building consists of two main parts or chawls situated one behind the other, with
an intervening open space of only about 3 yards. One of these chawls is open
on three sides and faces the Duncan Road. It has a fair amount of light and
ventilation, and was free of infection to a considerable extent as compared with
the other chawl of the same building, which had three times more cases than the
first one. The other hind chawl is very badly situated and is closed in on all sides
except one, the western, with high buildings cutting off its supply of light and air.
The ground-floor rooms are so very dark that even during mid-day we cannot
see anything clearly without an artificial light. Out of the total 25 cases which
were found in this whole building, as many as 15 were found in this chawl.
Datos of the cases are as follows :—1st case on 9th December 1898 was found in
the hind chawi. The infected room, together with the two adjoining rooms, was
vacated and disinfected on 10th December 1898. People were sent to camps.
The infection stopped suddenly and seemed to disappear for fully two months.
The infection made its next appearance on the scene on the 7th February 1899,
after an interval of fully two months. Six cases were discovered in the month
of February on the following dates :—7th, 15th, 18th, 23rd, 27th and 28th February
1899. Bach time the case was discovered, the necessary precaution of evacuation
and disinfection of the infected rooms, together with two adjoining rooms, was
observed in the strictest sense of the word, and yet the infection did not show signs
of yielding. In the month of March the dates of the cases, which are in all 9, are
as follows :—1st, 7th, 9th, and 12th March 1899; 2 cases on 15th March 1899;
2 cases on 20th and 21st March 1899. The rooms were again disinfected and
vacated and contacts and evicts were sent to camps. In the mouth of April 5 cases
were again fotmd on the following dates :—2nd, oth, 6th, 8th and 16th April 1899.
But it may fairly be said here that the infection which began in this house on 9th
December 1898 went on steadily progressing notwithstanding our energetic measures
to stop it, till it reached its height in the month of March. From this time it
began to show signs of gradual decline, till it almost subsided in the end of the
month of May, which witnessed only 4 cases on the following dates :—4th, 10th,
29th and 30th May 1899. This house goes very much to prove that evacuation
and disinfection does not necessarily exercise a check on the spread of infection.
This 'house, and especially its back chawl, affords every facility for the sheltering
of plague infection. Want of free air and light and dampness of its floors and
walls, coupled with dirty habits of the inhabitants who are mostly low class Hindus,
afford every opportunity for the microbial growth.
(3) House No. 177, Grant Road.—This house is a single storied house, consist-
ing of two rows of rooms. It is also made of brick and wood with earthen
ground-floor. It is surrounded on all sides by buildings of its own height. The
house being a low one, gets a fair amount of light, but the bad method of its
construction prevents free ventilation.
It is inhabited by low caste Hindus—
Mochis—who are extremely dirty in their habits. This house has 8 cases on the
following dates :—30th December 1898; 16th, 18th, 22nd and 24th February 1899 ;
24th and 25th April 1899, and 18th May 1899. In this house the infection began
on 30th December 1898, but was promptly checked apparently by thorough disin-
fection and evacuation of the infected and two adjoining rooms on each side. The
infection which appeared to disappear quite, again broke forth in the month of
February on 16th after an interval of full month and a half. As many as four cases
were discovered in February, the last case in February being on 24th of that
month. Again the infection stopped for full two months, after which it again