NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
83
importation of infection from an infected quarter of
Bombay on the person of an old woman who herself
did not contract the disease.
(2) In Wadhala village the first plague-infected rat was found
outside a house in which the coolies who worked for the
Commission lived. All these men worked amongst
plague-infected rats and fleas at the laboratory and
two of them likewise assisted in the work in Sion,
which at that time was badly infected.
(3) An old woman contracted plague in a badly infected
house in Bombay City. When ill she returned to her
home in Worli village, which at that time was not
infected, Guinea-pigs placed in her house in Worli im-
mediately after her return yielded rat fleas and one of
the guinea-pigs died of plague.
(4) A woman was brought when moribund from a badly infected
house in Bombay to a house in Parel village. She died a
few hours after her arrival. Her friends at once removed
the body, but left behind a certain amount of clothing
and bedding. Next day two guinea-pigs were placed in
the room. They yielded rat-fleas and one of them died
of plague. There was no plague at this time in the
neighbourhood of the house.
We have already pointed out that an imported plague case
may seern to be the start of the epidemic in an uninfected locality.
The connection is now clear. The sufferer from plague imports on
his person, in clothing or in bedding, etc., infected rat-fleas from the
house where he was infected. These fleas at once take to their
natural host, the rat, and thus start the disease amongst these
rodents. As the mortality amongst the rats begins in the vicinity
of the house occupied by the imported case, the human cases will
also begin in that neighbourhood. It is of course apparent that
a healthy man may act in the same way as a plague case and may
bring infected fleas from an infected locality, and also that
bedding, clothing, etc., may do so.
In conclusion, then, we may state that all evidence points
to the usual method of the importation of plague from an in-
fected to an uninfected locality being by means of infected rat-
fleas and to the fleas being brought in by human agency, namely, by
healthy men, by plague cases or in their belongings.
G 2
85
PART VIII.—THE RECRUDESCENCE AND SEASONAL
PREVALENCE OF PLAGUE,
A.—The existence of the plague bacillus in nature during the non-
epidemic season.
1. A saprophytic existence of the bacillus in the soil.
2. The existence of the bacillus in man.
3. The existence of the the bacillus in the rat.
B.—The factors which influence the rise and fall of the epidemic.
1. Temperature.
2. The number and susceptibility of the rats.
3. Variation in the number of fleas.
C.—Conclusion.
The most striking feature of plague epidemics is their seasonal
prevalence. In places where plague has once become established
the epidemic period, lasting as a rule about three months, tends to
recur always at the same season of the year. Now, we have
already seen that, as far as epidemics are concerned, plague depends
solely upon the transmission of the bacillus from rat to rat and
from rat to man in both cases by the rat-flea. In the light of this
well-established fact we must seek for an explanation of the phe-
nomena of recrudescence and seasonal prevalence. A little con-
sideration will show that two distinct and separate problems
are involved, namely:—(A) how the plague bacillus conti-
nues to exist in nature during the non-epidemic season, and
(B) the factors which govern the rise and fall of the
epidemic.
A.—THE EXISTENCE OF THE PLAGUE BACILLUS IN NATURE
DURING THE NON-EPIDEMIC SEASON.
With reterence to this problem we have to consider three pos-
sibilities, namely—
(1) A saprophytic existence of the bacillus in the soil.
(2) The existence of the bacillus in man.
(3) The existence of the bacillus in the rat.
1. A saprophytic existence of the bacillus in the soil.
We have already seen that the work of the Commission defi-
nitely shows that the plague bacillus does not survive in soil or on
86
floors for any length of time. It was found that the longest period
that floors remained infective after gross contamination was 24
hours.
In short, all experimental evidence, which need not be again
detailed, proves that there can be no question of a continued exis -
tence of the bacillus in the soil.
All the epidemiological facts accumulated by the Commission
point to there being no such thing as soil infection.
2. The existence of the bacillus in man.
We have already pointed out that human plague is dependent
upon plague in the rat, and that the only way man becomes in-
fected is by the bacilli being conveyed to him from the rat by the
rat-flea. There is no evidence that infection is ever carried from man
to rat, although the possibility of this occurring cannot be denied.
Cases of human plague which occur in the off-season must, therefore,
be dependent upon acute plague in rats. This correlation was
shown to be present in Bombay City during the off-plague season.
Again, there is no evidence that man harbours the bacilli after
he has recovered from the disease or while he is not a sufferer.
All the evidence, in fact, is against such a contingency.
These considerations, therefore, would negative the view, that
man was in any way responsible for the bridging over of plague
epidemics.
3. The existence of the bacillus in the rat.
In Bombay City it was found that the period between the
epidemics was bridged over by cases of acute plague amongst the
rats, accompanied by a few cases in man. There was never a
week in which acute rat plague was not present.
In the case of the two Punjab villages no rats were found in the
non-epidemic season suffering from acute plague nor did any
human plague cases occur. While this is so, a considerable number
of rats were caught alive, which, although apparently in good
health, harboured living and virulent plague bacilli in chronic
abscesses. It is to be carefully noted that these chronic plague-
rats inasmuch as the bacilli are shut up in abcesses, where fleas
87
cannot possibly get at them, are per se of no importance in spread-
ing the infection. After a careful study of this condition the
Commission came to the opinion that there was no reason for
believing that chronic plague in the rats, as it occurs in the Punjab
villages, possesses any significance in the seasonal recurrence
amongst the rats of the infection in an acute form.
While this is so, in the off-plague season in the Punjab there
are always plague cases occurring every week in some district or
other. In the year 1905 the smallest number was 129 in one
month, namely, September. It is certain also that the
number of these cases is greater and their distribution more
widespread than comes to the knowledge of the officials. Now, we
have already come to the conclusion that, if human plague cases
are occurring, acute plague amongst the rats must also be present.
It is also probable that acute rat plague might be present and still
no plague cases appear among human beings. That acute rat-
plague does not exist in all the villages in the off-season is shown
from the observations in Dhund and Kasel. That it does exist in
some villages, that it is widespread over the Province and that
the, districts where it is present vary in different off-seasons, are
facts graphically shown by a series of weekly maps depicting
the distribution of human plague cases in the Punjab from July
to October (the non-epidemic season) in various years.
We can conclude, therefore, that the plague bacillus exists
during the non-epidemic season in the rat, giving rise to acute
rat-plague and being carried from rat to rat by the rat-flea,
the epizootic, meanwhile, being kept in check by the factors which
we are now about to consider. This conclusion holds good both for
large cities such as Bombay and for provinces such as the Punjab.
We may now consider the second problem namely—
B.—THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE RISE AND FALL OF THE
EPIDEMIC.
Granted the presence of acute rat-plague during the non-
epidemic season and the dependence of human plague on rat
plague, it is evident that we have now to enquire into the factors
which influence the rise of the diseases among rats and its fall after it
88
has reached a climax. If we can find an adequate explanation of
these phenomena, it is clear that in the case of a city like Bombay
we shall have answered satisfactorily the questions we set ourselves,
but that in the case of a province like the Punjab, where the
villages are scattered and where acute rat plague is present during
the off-season in only a comparatively small number of them,
simultaneously, we shall require in addition to explain the diffusion
of the infection during the rise of the epizootic from the foci where
acute rat plague exists at the beginning of the epidemic season.
Let us then consider the factors which influence the rise and fall
of the epizootic, when the disease is present amongst the rats.
These factors have been shown to be as follows.
1. Temperature.
(a) A high mean temperature, i.e., 85°F, and over, affects the
fate of the plague bacillus in the stomach of the flea. At this
temperature fewer successful transmissions from animal to animal
are obtained and, besides, the flea does not retain its power of
infecting nearly so long as it does at a lower temperature, i.e.,
70°F. At the higher temperature the plague bacilli disappear from
the stomach much more quickly than at the lower temperature.
(b) While a mean temperature, high in comparison with
70°F., has no effect on the number of plague infected rats
which contain bacilli in the blood at death, at a low mean
temperature, such as 50°F., the number of infected rats that
die before bacilli appear in the blood is much greater than at
the higher temperature, i.e., 70°F.
(c) Temperature may have an influence on the prevalence of
fleas in nature. It has been shown that a high temperature
affects the breeding of fleas to a considerable extent. It appears
not only to restrain the adult from depositing eggs, but also to
deter the development of the eggs into larvae.
(d) Finally, from a study of the climatic conditions and
epidemic plague in six places in India it appears that plague
cannot exist in epidemic form in any place when the daily mean
temperature is high, i.e., 85°F. and over. In some places the rise
of the mean temperature to this degree and the fall of the
epidemic coincide; while in other places, e.g., Belgaum and Poona,
89
the epidemic subsides when the mean temperature is most suitable,
namely, about 70°F. Another factor or factors must, in these
instances, be in operation in causing the decline of the epidemic
In the Punjab during the winter months a low mean temperature,
such as 50°F., inasmuch as it diminishes the number of infected rats
which contain plague bacilli in their blood at death, may be a
factor in limiting plague outbreaks.
We find, therefore, that the epidemiological facts are in
harmony with the experimental data, as far as temperature is
concerned.
2. The number and susceptibility of rats.
There is evidence to show, that a plague epizootic diminishes for
the time being the total rat population of a place. There is also
evidence to show, that the effect of a plague epizootic is to increase
the proportion of immune to susceptible rats. It is evident that
these two factors would have an influence in limiting and in bring-
ing to an end plague amongst the rats.
Again, it was found both in Bombay and in the Punjab that
breeding of rats goes on all the year round, but that it is especially
vigorous during the season between the end of one epizootic and
the beginning of the next. During this interval there would, there-
fore, be added to the rat population a large number of young
susceptible individuals, a factor which would evidently influence
the rise of the epizootic.
3. Variation in the number of fleas.
It is not only a priori certain, but it has also been experimentally
proved by the Commission, that the rate of progress of a plague
epizootic is in direct proportion to the number of fleas present.
The questions, therefore, to be answered are ; (a) Is there in nature
a seasonal variation in the number of rat-fleas ? and (b) if so, does
it correspond to the rise and fall of the plague epidemic ?
The Commission have obtained answers to these questions
In Bombay and in the Punjab it was found that there is a
very definite seasonal prevalence of rat-fleas. And it was further
found that the plague epidemic season corresponds with the
greatest prevalence of these fleas, while in the months when plague
90
is at its minimum the fleas are fewest in number. No direct
evidence was obtained to show what factors are concerned in this
variation in the flea prevalence, except the few temperature experi-
ments already mentioned.
Other factors which might possibly influence the seasonal
prevalence of plague have been considered, but no evidence could
be obtained that they came at all into play. These factors were;
(a) other climatic conditions, such as rainfall and humidity;
(6) variation in the virulence of the plague bacillus; (c) influence
of climatic conditions on the life history and habits of the rat or on
the life history and habits of the flea or on the habits of man.
We may in conclusion of this part of our subject sum up as
follows :—
The rise of a plague epizootic depends upon;
(a) a suitable mean temperature, something below 85° F.;
(6) a sufficient number of susceptible rats ; and (c) a
sufficient number of rat-fleas.
The fall of a plague epizootic is determined by some one or all
of the following factors :—
(a) a high mean temperature, 85° F. and above; (6) a dimi-
nution in the total number of rats and an increase in
the proportion of immune to susceptible animals ; and
(c) a diminution in the number of rat-fleas.
C.—CONCLUSION.
As we have throughout insisted on the fact that the epidemic
is wholly dependent upon the rat epizootic, it is now evident that
our conception of the seasonal prevalence of human plague in a
city such as Bombay is complete.
In the case of a large Province with scattered towns and villages,
in only a few of which the disease persists simultaneously in the off.
season as acute rat plague, we have still to explain the outward diffu-
sion from these centres during the rise of the epidemic. Granted that
the factors, which, as we have seen, govern the seasonal prevalence
of the disease, are favourable, we have only to seek for some easy
and ready method of importation of the infection from village to
village, in order to arrive at an explanation of this diffusion. We
have already considered this question of importation and have
91
come to a very definite conclusion on the subject, which need not
now be repeated. The conception that importation from village
to village—villages which had been infected in previous epidemics
and villages which had never been infected before—is the determin-
ing factor, in addition to the factors already considered, in the rise
of the epidemic in a province such as the Punjab receives further
support from the following considerations :—
(1) First, importation is the only way in which a village first
becomes infected. If a village becomes infected in
this way to begin with, why not a second and a third
time ?
(2) Secondly, the work of the Commission shows definitely
that importation is not only possible but extremely
probable. It shows that it is the only possible way
by means of which the villages in the neighbourhood
of Bombay become infected year after year.
(3) Thirdly, a careful study of a Punjab district has shown
that a history of possible importation could be obtained
in 80 per cent. of the villages which became infected.
The question of how importation is brought about has already
been considered and need not now be entered into, except to
remind the reader of the conclusion that it is dependent solely
upon the conveyance in different ways of infected rat-fleas from
place to place.
Our conception of the causes of the recrudescence and of the
seasonal prevalence of plague in a large area like the Punjab may,
therefore, be stated as follows : The non-epidemic season is bridged
over by acute rat plague accompanied by a few human plague cases
in the towns and villages, the disease being kept in check by one
or other of the factors which, as we have already shown, act in
this manner. When the conditions which are suitable for the rise
of the epizootic become established, the disease rapidly increases in
the places where at that time it was present as acute rat plague
and then spreads outwards from these foci by the conveyance of
infected rat-fleas from village to village, these fleas being the
starting point of the rat epizootic in the uninfected villages
The
decline of the epidemic is determined by one or more of the
three factors we have already mentioned.
93
PART IX.—GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.
1. Pneumonic plague is highly contagious. It is, however,
rare (less than 3 per cent. of all cases) and plays a
very small part in the general spread of the disease.
2. Bubonic plague in man is entirely dependent on the
disease in the rat.
3. The infection is conveyed from rat to rat and from rat to
man solely by means of the rat-flea.
4. A case of bubonic plague in man is not in itself
infectious.
5. A large majority of plague cases occur singly in houses.
When more than one case occurs in a house, the
attacks are generally nearly simultaneous.
6. Plague is usually conveyed from place to place by imported
rat-fleas, which are carried by people on their
persons or in their baggage. The human agent not in-
frequently himself escapes infection.
7. Insanitary conditions have no relation to the occurrence
of plague, except in so far as they favour infestation
by rats.
8. The non-epidemic season is bridged over by acute plague
in the rat, accompanied by a few cases amongst
human beings.
G. I. C. P. O.—No. 19 S. C.—4 1-1908 —7,500.
ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION REPORT
OF
THE
CIVIL VETERINARY DEPARTMENT IN INDIA
FOR THE OFFICIAL
YEAR
1897-98.
No. 196—160 R. & A.
FROM
VETERINARY-COLONE A. E. QUERIPEL,
INSPECTOR-GENERAL, CIVIL VETERINARY DEPARTMENT.
To
THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA,
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE AND AGRICULTURE,
SIMLA.
Dated Simla, the 15th July, 1898.
SIR,
I have the honor to submit, for the information of the Government of
India, the Annual Administration Report of the Civil Veterinary Department
for the official year 1897-98.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
A. E. QUERIPEL, Vety.-Colonel,
Inspector-General, Civil Veterinary Department.
ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION REPORT
OF THE
CIVIL VETERINARY DEPARTMENT IN INDIA
FOR THE OFFICIAL YEAR
1897-98.
THE "OFFICIAL" MACHINE PRINTING PRESS, MEERUT.
ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION REPORT
OF THE
CIVIL VETERINARY DEPARTMENT IN INDIA
FOR, THE OFFICIAL YEAR
1897-98.
—o—
CONTENTS.
—o—
PART I.—IMPERIAL REPORT.
A.—MILITARY SECTION.
I.—HORSE-BREEDING—
(1) Government horse stallions—
Number of stallions ... ... ...
Received during the year ... ... ...
Casualties ... ... ... ...
Sales ... ... ... ... ...
Number of stallions present ... ... ...
Remarks on classes of stallions—
English stallions ... ... ... ...
Thoroughbred Australian stallions ... ...
Arab stallions ... ... ... ...
Hackney stallions ... ... ... ...
Transit of horses from England, and of donkeys from the
Continent ... ... ... ...
Proposed removal of the Punjab Stallion Depôt from
Babugarh ... ... .. ...
Transfer of horse-breeding in Sind from Provincial to
Imperial control ... ... ...
Number of stallions at stud work ... ...
Average number of mares covered per stallion ...
Maps ... ... ... ... ...
Demand for stallions ... ... ...
Stallions which produce stock the most suitable for the
Army ... ... ... ...
(2) Remounts—Country-bred—
Number purchased ... ... ... ...
Collection of remounts at convenient centres for purchase
by Native Cavalry ... ... ...
Purchase of young stock by Remount Department direct
from breeders ... ... ...
Absence of Native Cavalry Officers at Fairs ...
II.—MULE-BREEDING—
(1) Government donkey stallions—
Number of stallions ... ... ...
Casualties and Sales ... ... ...
Number of donkey stallions at stud work ... ...
Average number of mares covered per donkey stallion
employed ... ... ... ...
Demand for donkey stallions
...
... ...
Class of donkey stallions ... ... ...
(2) Number of mules purchased by Government ... ... ...
Supply of Ordnance mules ... ... ...
Pages.
1
ib.
ib.
ib.
2
ib.
3
4
5
7
ib.
8
9
10
ib.
ib.
11
15
16
17
ib.
21
ib.
ib.
ib.
22
ib.
25
ib.
ii
III.—TABLE (MILITARY SECTION) ... ... ...
B.—REVENUE SECTION.
I.—HORSE-BREEDING—
(1) Government horse stallions—
Cost of feed and keep ... ... ...
(2) Branded mares—
Number present ... ... ... ...
Popularity of the brand ... ... ...
Certificates granted by District Officers to allow
unbranded mares to be covered ... ...
Granting Certificates to barren mares to allow of their
being bought by Remount Officers ...
Number of mares covered by Government horse stallions,
(3) Produce—
Number of produce foaled, showing averages to mares
covered and stallions employed ... ...
Reliability of statistics ... ... ...
Darindah system ... ... ... ...
(4) Castration ... ... ... ... ...
II.—MULE-BREEDING—
(1) Government donkey stallions—
Cost of feed and keep ... ... ...
(2) Pony and donkey mares—
Number served by Government donkey stallions
(3) Produce—
Number of mule stock foaled ... ... ...
III.—HORSE FAIRS AND SHOWS—
Review on Horse Fairs and Shows during 1897-98 ...
Review on Horse Fairs and Shows in North-Western
Provinces ... ... ... ...
Conclusion—N.W. P. Fairs and Shows ... ...
Special Judging Committee—North-Western Provinces ...
Silver Medals awarded at N.-W. P. Fairs and Shows ...
Reviews on Horse Shows in the Punjab ... ...
Conclusion—Pun jab Shows ... ...
Silver Medals awarded at Punjab Shows ... ...
Special Judging Committee—Punjab ... ...
Reviews on Horse Shows in Baluchistan ... ...
Do.
Rajputana ... ...
Do.
Tirhoot ... ...
Do.
Bengal ... ...
Do.
Sind
and Bombay ... ...
Do.
Kathiawar ... ...
Do.
Madras ... ...
Amount awarded as prizes at Horse Shows ... ...
Summary of Horse Fairs and Shows ... ...
Stallions whose produce won prizes ... ...
IV.—INSTRUCTION FARM—
(1) Remarks on work done at the Farms ... ...
(2) Result of running young donkey stock on the Farm ... ...
(3) Balance sheet of cultivation operations ... ...
(4) Return of Farm stock ... ... ...
(5) Casualties ... ... ... ... ...
(6) Sales ... ... ... ... ...
(7) Farm produce—N.-W. P. Farm ... ... ...
(8) Farm produce—Punjab Farm ... ... ...
V.—BACTERIOLOGICAL LABORATORY—
(1) Bacteriological Laboratory ... ... ...
(2) Experimental Station in the Plains ... ...
(3) Supply of Mallein ... ... ... ...
Pages.
i—lxxix
33
ib.
34
ib.
36
ib.
37
39
ib.
40
45
ib.
ib.
49
ib.
53
ib.
ib.
54
65
ib.
ib.
66
68
69
ib.
ib.
71
ib.
72
73
ib.
77
78
ib.
79
ib.
ib.
ib.
81
85
86
87