23
Segregation.
Segregation of sick was very rarely resorted to, but at Jatánwála, a village in the
Zíra Tahsíl, all the sick and contacts were
segregated near their wells. On being asked
why they had done this, the people replied that they had been advised, by a Mussal-
man fakir, that it was the best thing to do, and had acted at once on his advice.
Treatment.
Medical treatment was in great favour, and it did much to ingratiate the medical
staff with the people and to remove the dis-
trust of the latter towards plague measures.
Disinfection.
Sixty-one rooms were chemically disin-
fected and 3,577 desiccated.
Desiccation was very popular, but the people, when the process was first introduced,
used to insist on removing as much as possible from the rooms beforehand.
Infection.
Almost invariably a place became infected by a person arriving in the incubation
stage of plague and developing the disease after
arrival. The dissemination of the disease
through a village appeared often to be due to the agency of rats. The death of rats some-
times followed and at other times preceded the outbreak of the disease among human
beings. No measures were taken to destroy rats, and the people would not interest them-
selves in the matter.
Type of the disease.
The bubonic form of plague vastly preponderated. The septicaemic form was much
spoken of by the people, but was seldom seen.
Most of the cases when of two or three days'
duration showed a bubo on examination, borne pneumonic plague was seen. One Hospital
Assistant, on plague duty, developed the disease, but recovered.
Medical Staff and Establishment.
The following Medical Officers and establishment were employed on plague duty
in the district :—Captain E. L. Perry, I. M. S.,
and Captain R. G. Turner, I. M. S., District
Plague Medical Officers, Dr. F. J. Pearson, Dr. W. Somerville, Dr. C H. Mahoney,
inoculating Medical Officers, Dr. G. H. Key, i Hospital Assistant and 4 Compounders.
SiALKOT DISTRICT.
Epidemic.
36. This was the third season during which an epidemic of plague had visited the
Siálkot District, but the present one was not as
severe as that of the previous season, there
having been 22,697 cases with 14,355 deaths in this epidémicas against 51,914 cases and
34,137 deaths during the preceding one. Three out of the five tahsils in the district were
infected at the commencement of the season, and the other two became so subsequentlv.
The epidemic grew steadily from the beginning of October up to the w r eek ending the 20th of
December, from which time till the end of January there was a diminution in the spread of
plague, followed by another rise in February, most marked at the middle of the month. The
.'numbers then steadily grew until the climax was reached about the end of April. The
epidemic rapidly declined early in May and disappeared in the first week of August, to
reappear at the end of September.
Preventive measures.
In some of the small Municipal towns committees were formed with a view to pre-
venting trade and communication with infected
places. At only one place, however, viz.,
Nárowál, was any attempt made to prevent a person from an infected area entering, and in
¡that particular case the man kept out was paid by the Reverend G. H. Gough, Vice-Presi-
dent of the Municipality. Otherwise the measure was not adopted.
Segregation.
At several villages all sick and contacts were segregated on the appearance of the
disease, with the result that outbreaks were
averted.
Evacuation.
Evacuation was not adopted anywhere
in the district.
Information.
The returns subnvtted by Patwárís were very accurate, and the Tahsxldárs kept a
good .check on the.m. They were also checked
whenever a Medical Officer visited one of the
villages.
Disinfection.
Desiccation.
No chemical disinfection was done in the Siálkot District, but 431 rooms were
desiccated with Sawnhey's stove, and the
measure was popular, the people providing
their own fuel, which was co wdung mixed with
a small quantity of wood. About 15 seers of wood and cowdung were used for an average