2
Course of epidemic.
5. Statement No. 6 (in Appendix 1) shows week by week the seizures and deaths in
every infected British district in the Province.
In all those districts which were extensively
infected the epidemic followed a fairly typical course. The rise and fall of the numbers for
each individual district; with a few exceptions, were synchronous with the fluctuations
of the weekly totals for all the districts combined. The number of plague cases and
deaths, although small at the, beginning of October, increased rapidly week by week up.
to the week ending December the 20th, when 3,588 cases with 2,235 deaths were recorded.
During the following three weeks the numbers slightly decreased, but rose again during
the last three weeks of January, 3,693 cases with 2,288 deaths having been returned during
the week-ending January; the 31st. There was thus-a lull in the epidemic from December
the 14th till January the 31st, a period of seven weeks. In spite of this temporary abate-
ment in the number of attacks and deaths, however, the disease continued to spread, and
during each week of this period over 80 villages were added to the list of those already
infected. From the beginning of February onwards the epidemic rapidly and uninter-
ruptedly increased, reaching its climax in April and not beginning to decline appreciably
until towards the middle of May. The highest mortality was reached during the week
ending May 2nd, when 25,592 cases and 15,396 deaths were returned. During- the seven
weeks from March 29th to May 16th, 2,194 villages became infected and 163,972 cases
with 98,077 deaths occurred, these figures being about half those for the whole year.
After the middle of May the epidemic rapidly declined until ;during. the week ending<
August the 15th the number of cases sank to 8 and of deaths to 6, the lowest recorded
in any week during the year. From this time onwards the numbers again - gradually
though steadily rose until the end of the year under report. In the Gurgaon
District the decline began somewhat ; earlier than in the other districts,- and the period
of seasonal subsidence of plague was, longest in the Ludhiána, Gujrát, Jhang and Karnál
Districts in which but comparatively small outbreaks had occurred.
Attitude of the people towards plague measures.
6. The bearing of the people in the presence of the epidemic and their attitude
towards measures for dealing with it varied
greatly in different parts' of the Province.
Generally great apathy was displayed,' especially' by the Muhammadán' portion of the com-
munity. In the Montgomery District, however, where the population have had very little
experience of plague, great fright was evinced on its appearance, the people deserting
their houses and fleeing to neighbouring villages. Here as in- most other districts great
mistrust of most measures advocated by Government officials was displayed' for some time.
Everywhere - the well-to-do. and educated classes were the least ready to adopt
preventive measures—this being most marked in the larger towns. In some places
the attitude of the people greatly improved towards plague measures as they became more
familiar with the medical staff. This was markedly so in the Amritsar District where it was
reported that an attitude of grave mistrust and suspicion gave place to a real desire to
accept the measures offered by Government, as the people became familiar with the
staff and their ways. On the whole the attitude of the people was best in those districts
which have had the longest experience of the disease. Thus in the Hoshiárpur District, which
has been infected every year since the epidemic first made its appearance in the Punjab, the
attitude of the people was very reasonable, and there was more inoculation and evacuation in
this than in any other district. In the Ambala District it is recorded that the attitude of the
people was better than in the previous year.
Measures taken to revent infection of healthy places.
7. Surveillance over arrivals from infected areas was practically never exercised, nor,
except in a very few instances, was advant-
age taken, by the villagers, of the powers
afforded to them of refusing access to their villages to persons coming from infected places.
The early detection and segregation-of plague cases appears to have been successful
in preventing outbreaks in some places. It , is reported that these measures appear to
have averted outbreaks in the towns of Sirsa and Hissar, whereas at Hánsi, in the same
district, the concealment of the deaths of two banias, who had returned from a visit ta
Rewári, resulted in a serious; outbreak.
A similar contrast is reported between the circumstances of the town of Jhang and
those of Chiniot and Lyallpur. The inhabitants of Jhang-Maghiána City were very
favourably disposed towards preventive measures and appointed two hakims to visit and
report on all suspicious cases of sickness. All cases were reported and promptly dealt
with and the disease did not take on an epidemie form. On the other hand, the towns
of Chiniot and Lyallpur, the inhabitants of which from the first refused to take any such
precautions, suffered from severe outbreaks