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APPENDIX E-
A short History of Lustig's serum as used in
Bombay.
In November 1897, Professor Lustig wrote from Florence, fco the Health
Officer, stating that as the experiments with serum prepared according to his
method had proved very satisfactory on monkeys and men, his Assistant, Dr.
Galeotti, would go to Bombay to prepare the.serum there provided his journey and
actual expenses were paid. The letter met with the approbation of the Health
Officer, Oolv Weir, who states that the results of the treatment adopted by Professor
Lustig were most encouraging. Professor Lustig had been originally sent out to
Bombay by the British Government, and conducted a number of experiments with his
serum which Dr. Choksy, the Medical Officer in charge of the Arthur Road Hospital,
reports as the only serum which gave anything like satisfactory results, as out of 7
cases treated with this serum 6 recovered, and at Lanowli 16 cases were treated
and 12 recovered.
2. On the strength of these favourable reports, the Municipality decided to
accept the services of Dr. Galeotti, and a wire was sent to Professor Lustig to
that effect, also to ascertain if he had any serum ready and how long it would
take to prepare fresh serum in Bombay.
3. In answer to this, Professor Lustig wired to say that no serum was ready
and that four weeks would be required to prepare the serum which he proposed
to send out by Dr. Galeotti. The Municipal Commissioner, Mr. Snow, in return
wired to say that as much serum as could be prepared should be sent out by Dr.
Galeotti, and that a weekly supply be sent (February 1898). Professor Lustig
then proposed that if the trials resulted in a successful termination, he would come
himself (with the sanction of the Italian Ministry) to Bombay and set up an Institu-
tion for its preparation. This was in February 1898.
4. On March llth, Dr. Galeotti arrived in Bombay, and the experiments
with Lustig's serum were taken in hand. In April Dr. Ohoksy was called on for
a report of the cases inoculated and stated, on the 22nd April, that it wos feared
that if any deductions were to be drawn from those already treated at such an early
stage, no definite conclusions would be arrived at, but that the percentage of recover-
ies amongst those treated is about 50 per cent. In a further communication,
dated 25th April, he states that the number of patients treated amounted to 103 ;
84: of whom were treated at the Arthur Road, 10 at the Maratha, and 9 at Parel
Hospitals, That the serum obtained from Horse No. 1 was comparatively weak
and gave less satisfactory results than the other animals. Of the 103 cases treated,
18 were very advanced and grave, including some that were pneumonic and
unconscious. These cases were treated to see the effect of the serum on them, and
the result found was that there was some amelioration and considerable improve-
ment in their symptoms, albeit of a temporary nature, although they eventually
succumbed. The rate of recovery in these cases was 42*71 per cent., and eleminat-
ing the 18 grave cases, the recoveries were 51'77 per cent. The average mortality
at the Arthur Eoad Hospital at this time was 73'55. Thus the serum gives
encouraging results.
5. The Standing Committee, on the 27th April, resolved that' the serum be
distributed as far as possible to the various Plague Hospitals and also, if possible, to
the Plague Authorities at Karachi.
6. The question of the expenditure concerning the proposed Laboratory for
the manufacture of serum locally was then gone into, and sanction given to the neces-