NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
229
APP. IV. ] Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
(3) For the disinfection of the carriages used by a suspected
person or his fellow travellers, and for telegraphing the
address of all such fellow passengers for the information
of the local authorities of the places to which they are
proceeding.
The Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Commissioner considers that
to secure undivided control; together with greater efficiency in carry-
ing out the operations, and to prevent the clashing of authority,
the work detailed under heads (1) and (2) above, i, e., the medical
inspection of passengers, the removal of persons suffering from bu-
bonic plague from trains or railway premises and their subsequent
treatment, should, wherever possible, be undertaken, with the co-op-
eration of the railway authorities, by Government officials who will be
held responsible by the Government for the due performance of their
duties ; and this view has been adopted in framing under the new
Act regulations defining the duties of the special medical officers
appointed to the four stations on the borders of the provinces. It is
understood that in cases where a railway company has arranged for
the medical examination of passengers, the duty is frequently under-
taken by a medical subordinate in addition to his ordinary work, an
arrangement which even on sanitary grounds appears to the Govern-
ment to be objectionable. Moreover, as the Agent of the East Indian
Railway Company points out, such examination can only be a cursory
one. At the few places where a special medical officer has been em-
ployed by a railway company, e.g., Allahabad, he might remain on
duty, as an additional precaution, to co-operate with the Government
official in the work.
The railway authorities of all lines on the other hand should be
directly responsible for the performance of duties of the nature indicat-
ed under head (3) above, which clearly fall entirely within their prov-
ince. Rules 39, 54, 56, 66, 67, 68, 69 and 82 of Annexure A deal
more particularly with the duties of railway officials.
It is desirable that a railway carriage in which a case of plague
has occurred should be kept unused, after being thoroughly disinfected
on a siding for ten days. - The Managers and Agents of the various
railway lines will be addressed on this subject, and also with regard to
the method of disinfecting such carriages.
Apportionment
of expenditure.
13. Under section 2 of Act No. III of 1897, it is open to the
Local Government, which has been duly authorized to that end by the
Governor-General in Council, to determine in what manner and by
whom any expenses incurred in carrying out the prescribed measures
230
Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act. [App. IV.
should be defrayed. The expenses connected with the erection of
temporary hospitals, the dieting and segregating of patients, the treat-
ing them in hospital and other similar measures will, till further
orders, be borne, as the case may be, by the Government or by the
local authority concerned. If in any case it is considered inequitable
that the cost of disinfecting a house or taking other similar measures
should be defrayed by the person benefited thereby, a special report
should be made to the Government for orders. Magistrates are
hereby authorized to incur any emergent expenditure that may be
necessary from their contract grants, and to make advances to the
medical officers or to the police for the purpose. Orders regarding
the method of adjustment will be subsequently issued. The cost of
erecting observation sheds in the neighbourhood of railway stations
should in the Lieutenant-Governor's opinion fall upon the railway
companies concerned.
Duties of the
Sanitary
Commissioner.
14. Up to the present, the Sanitary Commissioner has personally
investigated every case of bubonic plague that has occurred in the
Provinces. His numerous other duties may not allow of his continu-
ing to do so, but he will exercise general control over all the preventive
and precautionary measures detailed in the rules annexed. He should
be immediately consulted in all cases of difficulty or doubt by Civil
Surgeons, who are primarily and directly responsible for the entire
medical and sanitary arrangements, or by district officers ; and any
instructions issued by him should be promptly carried out.
Orders under
the Epidemic
Diseases Act.
15. Special attention is directed to the regulations and orders
made by this Government under Act No. III of 1897, which form
an Appendix to this Resolution, and which will remain in force until
further orders. Copies of these rules, and translations into the ver-
nacular, will be furnished to district officers for affixing to notice-
boards at railway stations and in municipal towns and cantonments,
and for distribution to the officials concerned. The Lieutenant-
Governor and Chief Commissioner trusts that the period during which
it is necessary to enforce such orders in the interests of the inhabi-
tants of these Provinces will not be long ; but His Honour has no
doubt that in view of the gravity of the situation the orders will be
cheerfully obeyed by all classes of the community.
ANNEXURE A.
Preamble.
No, 45,
Notification No. 58/XVI-404-B of 1879 dated the I2th February 1897.
In exercise of the power conferred on this Government by Noti-
fication No. 302, dated 4th February 1897, of the Governor-General
in Council, the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces
and Chief Commissioner of Oudh is pleased to make the following
231
APP. IV. ] Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
regulations and orders under Act No. III of 1897 (an Act to provide
for the better prevention of the spread of Dangerous Epidemic
Disease) :—
Regulations and orders made by the Local Government under
Act No. III of 1897 for the detection and treatment of cases of bubo-
nic plague, with a view to the better prevention of the spread of that
disease.
Part I—*Rules relating to villages and small towns,
(i) Duties of the Police.
List A of villages
having communi-
cation with the
Bombay Presi-
dency.
I. The officer in charge of every police station shall forthwith
bring upon a list (A) the names of all villages in his circle the inhabi-
tants, or any portion of the inhabitants of which, are ascertained to
have trade relations or other connection with the Bombay Presidency
or Kurrachee.
Report of ar-
rivals from the
Bombay Presi-
dency (List B).
2. Every village policeman shall enquire and report without delay
the name of every person in his village who has arrived from the
direction of Bombay or Kurrachee since the 1st of January 1897 :
he will also report all fresh arrivals as they occur. The names so
reported will be entered on a list (B).
Reports of
deaths in villages
in List A.
3. In the case of every village entered in list A, reports of all
deaths shall be made daily, as in the case of cholera epidemics : and
the officer in charge of the police station, on receiving report of a
death, shall carefully enquire whether the deceased person had
symptoms of bubonic plague as described in Annexure I.
Reports of
deaths of persona
in List B.
4. Similar inquiry shall be made in the event of a report being
received of the death of any person whose ñameis entered in list B
or of any person in that household.
Reports of
unusual mortality
in any village.
5. Whenever the deaths reported from any village (whether on
list A or B or not) are more frequent than usual, and especially sud-
den deaths attributed to fever, the officer in charge of the police sta-
tion shall make inquiries from the village policemen with a view to
ascertaining whether the symptoms of bubonic plague existed.
Enquiry into
suspicious deaths.
6. On ascertaining from a village policeman or other source of
information that a death in a village was preceded by symptoms such
as those described in Annexure I, the officer in charge of the police
station will either go himself or depute a competent subordinate to
make an inquiry, any action taken being recorded in the station diary.
Disposal of
body and disin-
fection of house,
clothing, bed-
ding, etc.
7. If the officer making the inquiry is of opinion that the death was
due to bubonic plague, and finds that no other persons in the house in
which the death occurred are ill, he shall proceed to dispose of the
body and to disinfect the house, clothes and bedding of the deceased,
232
Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Ad. [ APP. IV.
as laid down in Annexure I, * reporting at the same time the result of
* Printed after the his inquiry in the manner provided in Rule 9.
later Resolution 7, of
the 26th March.
Precautions to
be taken with the
sick.
8. If he also finds that any person in the house is ill with fever,
he shall, in the absence of the Tahsildar and in anticipation of orders
from the Civil Surgeon or Magistrate, see that all the precautions
specified in Annexure I, are, with the assistance of the headman of the
village, rigorously observed. He will take similar action on learning
of the occurrence of a case of bubonic plague at anyway-side railway
station in his circle.
Report to Dis-
trict authorities.
9. The officer in charge of the police station shall report imme-
diately to the District Superintendent of Police, the Magistrate of the
District, the nearest Medical Subordinate and the Civil Surgeon, any
case of bubonic plague, or suspicious case, brought to his notice.
The Civil Surgeon will inform the Inspector General of Civil Hospitals
and the Sanitary Commissioner by telegram.
(ii) Duties of the Revenue Staff.
Reports.
Io. Every patwari shall report to the Registrar Kanungo and
the Tahsildar the death of any person in his village in cases where
the symptoms of bubonic plague, as described in Annexture I, were
present.
Enquiry by
Tahsildar.
II. On receipt of such report, the Tahsildar shall satisfy him-
self that the necessary action, described in the preceding rules, has
been taken by the police.
Tahsildar to
assist.
12. If possible, the Tahsildar shall go himself to the spot or
depute his Naib or ask a relief officer to assist in enforcing the sani-
tary precautions.
Report to
Magistrate.
13. The Tahsildar shall communicate the information forthwith
to the District or Sub-divisional Magistrate.
(iii) Duties of the Famine Relief Staff.
Enquiry by Relief
Officers and en-
forcement of
precautions.
14. Every Relief Officer on his rounds shall ascertain whether
any case of bubonic plague has occurred in the village visited ; and
if any come to his notice, shall cause the village policeman to report
it, and proceed himself to take the sanitary precautions named in
Annexure I, if the necessary action has not already been taken.
(iv) Duties of the Medical Staff.
Visit by medical
officer and
report t o Civil
Surgeo n.
15. The nearest medical officer to receive information of cases of
bubonic plague from the officer in charge of a police station may be the
Hospital Assistant of a Branch Dispensary. The Hospital Assistant,
233
APP. IV.] Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
on receiving a report of a case, shall (if possible) at once visit the
spot and see that the necessary sanitary measures are taken. He
shall communicate the result forthwith to the Civil Surgeon.
Hospital
Assistants
to watch arrivals
and report
sickness.
16. In villages in which a Branch Dispensary is situated, Hos-
pital Assistants shall themselves watch all arrivals and report sick-
ness, with a description of the Symptoms, to the Civil Surgeon of the
district.
Civil Surgeon
or subordinate
to visit places
whence cases are
reported and to
enforce precau-
tions.
17. Civil Surgeons will arrange to proceed, as soon as possible,
to places from which cases are reported, or to depute a qualified
subordinate to undertake the duty in their place. On arrival, the
Civil Surgeon (or qualified subordinate) shall be guided in his action
by the instructions conveyed in rules 27 to 37, so far as they are
applicable to the circumstances of the case.
Temporary
encampment
in the open.
18. Should the Civil Surgeon consider it necessary that the inhab-
itants of a village in which bubonic plague has broken out should
temporarily camp out in the open or under trees at a distance from
the village in the manner indicated in rule 34, he may make a report
to that effect to the Magistrate of the District, and the latter may
direct the inhabitants to vacate their houses accordingly, The
houses shall in this case be not again occupied till they are thoroughly
disinfected.
(v) Duties of the Public.
The public to
obey instructions.
19. Every person to whom an order is given by any officer em-
powered to act under the preceding rules, with regard to his segre-
gation, the disinfection of his house or personal property, the disposal
of a dead body, or with regard to any other matter falling under
these rules shall duly obey that order.
Part II.—Ritles relating to Municipalities, Cantonments,
and Towns under Act XX of 1856.
Foregoing rules
to apply to
municipalities,
cantonments and
other towns.
20. The foregoing rules shall be observed, so far as possible, in
municipalities, cantonments, and in towns administered under Act XX
of 1856.
Following
special rules
apply.
21. The following special rules shall apply to every municipality
constituted under Act XV of 1873 or Act XV of 1883 and to every
cantonment.
Notice to be given
of employment
in factories of
persons from the
Bombay
Presidency,
"2I-A. Every occupier of a 'factory' shall on employing in his
Notification No. factory any person who has come from the Bombay
129/XVI-404-B, dated Presidency or Sind, immediately give notice in !
the 4th March
;
1897.
writing of the fact of such employment to
the
Magistrate of the district, and shall report to the Magistrate the name
and address of the person employed.
30
234
Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act. [ APP. IV.
" The word ' factory ' used in this rule means any premises where-
in is carried on any process for, or incidental to, making, altering,
repairing, ornamenting, finishing or otherwise adapting for use or
sale any article or part of an article ; and wherein steam, water or
other mechanical power is used in aid of any such process."
Report by
householders,
etc.
22. If in any house a person becomes ill, or dies of a disease which
is known, or suspected to be, bubonic plague, the owner of such house,
or if the owner be non-resident, the occupier, and every head of a
family.resident therein, shall forthwith report the occurrence of such
illness or death at the nearest police station.
Report by
householders,
etc., of illness or
death of persons
from the Bombay
Presidency.
23. If there is, or has been, resident in any house a person who
has come since the 1st January 1897 from Bombay, Poona, Karachi,
or other place in which bubonic plague is prevalent, the owner of
such house or, if the owner be non-resident, the occupier, and every
head of a family resident therein, shall report at the nearest police
station—(I) the illness of any person in such house, or (2) the death of
any person in such house, immediately such illness is apparent or
death occurs.
Report by
medical
practitioners.
24. Any medical practitioner who (I) attends a case of illness in
a house in which there is present a person who has come from a place
where plague is prevalent, or who (2) attends in any house a case in which
he has reason to believe the sick person to be infected with bubonic
plague, shall forthwith report such illness to the nearest police station.
Report to
authorities by the
police.
25. On receiving a report under rules 22, 23 or 24, the officer in
charge of the police station shall immediately report the matter to the
District Superintendent of Police, the District Magistrate and the
Health Officer (or Sanitary Officer) of the municipality or cantonment.
Removal of the
sick and removal
and disposal of
corpses.
26. In the cases referred to in rules 22, 23 and 24 a sick person or
dead body shall not be removed from the house without the written
permission of the Health Officer: and the head of the family shall
dispose of a dead body by cremation or burial in such manner as may
be directed by the Health Officer.
Disinfection and
cleansing of
houses,
disinfection or
destruction of
clothing.bedding,
etc., disposal of
corpses, sanitary
improvements.
27. The owner and occupier of a house, and the head of any
family resident therein, shall comply with any direction that may be
issued by the Health Officer or Officer of the Sanitation Department
with regard to the disinfection and cleansing of a house, the disinfec-
tion or destruction of clothing and personal effects, the disposal of any
corpse, the improvement of the sanitary condition of the premises, and
with regard to other similar matters, and shall permit
the Health Officer or officer of the Sanitation Depart-
ment to enter his house or premises for the purpose
of inspection.
Notification No.
90
XVI—404-B.—105,
dated the 26th
February 1897.
235
APP. IV. ] Regulations under the Epidemie Diseases Act.
Health Officer
may himself taice
measures for the
above.
28. The Health Officer shall, if he considers it necessary, himself
take measures for the disinfection of a house and for the other matters
referred to in the preceding rule.
Destruction oí
non-masonry
structures.
Should the Health Officer think it necessary and practicable to
burn or otherwise destroy any non-masonry and inflammable structure,
he will report the case to the Magistrate of the District and act on
his orders. The Magistrate of the District may order the burning or
destruction of any hut or other temporary structure, if disinfection
cannot be satisfactorily effected.
Entry and
examination of
persons.
Females.
29. The owner and occupier of any house shall permit the Health
Officer to enter his premises and examine any person whom the
Health Officer has reason to believe to be infected with bubonic
plague. If the person be a female, the examination shall, if desired,
be made through a female doctor, female Hospital Assistant or other
female agency,
Removal of
patients to
hospitaler
temporary
accommodation.
Segregation of
other occupants
of the house.
30. If on examination of a sick person in a house or other place
within the limits of a municipality or cantonment 5 the Health Officer
suspects (I) that such person is infected with bubonic plague, or (2)
considers that he is actually suffering from bubonic plague, the Health
Officer shall, if he considers it necessary, arrange for the removal of
such person, (I) to an observation shed, or (2) to a temporary hospital
established for the purpose and for his detention, dieting and medical
treatment therein ; also for the removal of the other occupants
of the house to segregation huts, tents, or suitable structures con-
structed at a distance from the town, to be detained under observa-
tion for ten days.
Companions and
attendants of the
sick.
31. If in any case a person removed to a temporary hospital is
accompanied by a companion or attendant, the Health Officer shall
require the companion or attendant to live in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the temporary hospital in a segregation hut or tent
provided for the purpose, and to remain in such place until he
receives permission from the Health Officer to depart.
Segregation of
the same ¡£
attacked by
plague.
32. If a person is attacked with bubonic plague while so segre-
gated, the Health Officer shall remove such person to the temporary
hospital, and shall keep under observation in a segregation hut, tent
or suitable structure, for a period of ten days from the date of such
removal, any companion or attendant who has been with the person
attacked.
Segregation for
I o days of
persons in
attendance on
deceased.
33. Upon the death of a sick person from bubonic plague, the
Health Officer shall for ten days detain under observation all persons
who have been in attendance upon him, in segregation huts, tents or;
suitable structures established for the purpose in the neighbourhood,
236
Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act. [ APP. IV.
Evacuation of
infected locality.
34. If bubonic plague has become prevalent in a portion of a
municipality or cantonment, the Health Officer or Sanitary Commis-
sioner may, with the sanction of Government, direct the inhabitants
of any street, mahalla or other locality to evacuate their houses, to re-
move to a temporary settlement established, as a place of segregation,
at a distance from the infected quarter, and to remain in such settle-
ment for so long as he may consider necessary. After evacuation, the
Health Officer shall arrange for the thorough disinfection and cleans-
ing of the empty premises, and shall not permit the inhabitants to
return until the premises are considered to be free from infection.
Persons dealt
with under fore-
going rules to
obey instruc-
tions.
35. A person dealt with under the foregoing rules shall comply
with any directions that may be given to him by the Health Officer,
with regard to his removal to, and his detention and treatment in, an
observation shed, temporary hospital or place of segregation, and with
respect to the disinfecting or burning of his clothing and personal
effects, the disposal of any corpse, or with respect to any other similar
matter ; he shall not depart from any such place of detention without
the permission of the Health Officer.
Disposal of
corpses.
36. In the event of death occurring from bubonic plague, the
Health Officer shall arrange for the disposal of the body. In the case
of a European or Muhammadan, the body shall be buried at least six
feet deep and be covered with chloride of lime : the place of burial
if not an authorized cemetery, should be well away from habitations and
sources of water-supply. In the case of a Hindu, the body shall be
completely and thoroughly burned in an isolated locality in the pres-
ence of a responsible official.
Assistance of
Police.
37. All police officers shall give to the Health Officer such assis-
tance as he may consider necessary in carrying out these rules.
Part III.—Rules relating to Railway Stations.
(i) Procedure at Manikpur, Fhansi, Saharanpur } and Ghaziabad.
A.—Inspection of Passengers.
Definition.
38. In the following rules the words " Medical officer " mean
the Commissioned Medical Officer, Military Assistant Surgeon or
officer of the rank of Civil Surgeon stationed at Manikpur, Jhansi,
Saharanpur and Ghaziabad, and at any other place which may be
subsequently notified, for the purpose of carrying- out these regula-
tions.
Detention of
traîna at
Manikpur,,
Jhansi,
39. Every train coming from the direction of Bombay in the
case of Manikpur and Jhansi, and of the Punjab in the case of
Saharanpur and Ghaziabad, shall be detained at those stations so