47
Deputation of Punjab officials to the Plague Research
Laboratory.
79. In consequence of presentations made by the Director-in-Chief of, the Plague
Research Laboratory and in compliance with
the request of the Government of India a
deputation from the Punjab Government con-
sisting of the Judicial and General Secretary, the Chief Plague Medical Officer and the
Inspecting Inoculation Officer visited the Plague Research Laboratory towards the end o£
November.
As the result of its enquiries, the deputation drew up a memorandum regarding the
prophylactic which it was considered desirable to use and the conditions under which it
might be accepted. The recommendations in this memorandum were to the effect that only
such prophylactic should be used as was prepared in accordance with the method adopted,
for the preparation of the fluid which had been supplied to the Punjab in previous years
that this fluid should be standardised in a particular; manner, and that certain additional
tests and precautions should be taken to ensure the issue of only such fluid as was perfectly
safe to use. The Punjab Government accepted the recommendations of this deputation and
issued instructions accordingly.
Testing of prophylactic in the Punjab.
80. As an additional precaution it was decided to test in the Punjab samples of
each brew before any of it was issued for use.
Captain Harvey, I. M. S., Officiating Deputy
Sanitary Commissioner, Punjab, was accordingly deputed to perform this duty at the
Central Disinfection Depot. A report on the testing of the prophylactic work has
already been furnished to Government. It may be stated here that the laboratory for
testing prophylactic was opened on 8th December 1902 and was closed on 27thof April 1903.
During this period 6,342 brews containing 2,014,946 doses were examined, of which
all but 15 brews containing 5,238 doses were found to be sterile.
Of these latter 6 brews were rejected as being of doubtful purity and 9 because they
were considered to be contaminated. In addition to testing brews received from the
Plague Research Laboratory, Captain Harvey also tested the contents of several bottles of
prophylactic which were rejected by inoculating officers on account of unusual appearance
of the fluid or for some other reasons. The number of such bottles tested was 236 : all were
found sterile.
Progress of operations.
November.
81. It would appear from the statements furnished with this report that a con-
siderable number of inoculations had been per-
formed in November before the Orders first for
the restriction and afterwards for the entire
cessation of inoculation had time to take effect.
It should be explained, however, that these statements are compiled from returns
which showed for any given day, not the inoculations which were performed on that day, but
those Information concerning which reached the compiling officer on the date in question.
Thus a number of the inoculations which are included in the returns for November were per-
formed during the last few days of October, and so on. It naturally took some time for
Orders to reach officers in out-of-the way part of districts beyond the reach of the telegraph.
Only 9 inoculations were reported during the week ending November 22nd, all of
which were performed in the Jullundur District.
December.
82. During December 1902 onlyold Stocks of prophylactic were available, and only
188,990 persons were inoculated. Some 40,000
doses of prophylactic prepared by the original
process were received from the Plague Research Laboratory during this month, but as it had
to be tested before issue it was not brought into use until the following month.
January
Mulkowäl Commission.
83. In the early part of January 1903 inoculation operations were somewhat
interfered with by the withdrawal of several
inoculating officers from their work in Order to
give evidence before the Commission previously
mentioned appointed to enquire into the circumstances which led to the Mulkowäl disaster.
The Commission sat for six days at Jullundur and examined 21 witnesses.
In spite of this Interruption, however, the number of inoculations performed during-
January amounted to 77,110, of which 40,954 were performed in the Hoshiárpur District
alone.
February.
Discontinuance of supply of prophylactic.
84. It was in February that the extent of inoculation operations approached most
nearly to that attained during October. Plague
began to spread rapidly and the people were
not at this time so fully occupied in agricultural
Operation as to be unable to spare time to be inoculated.