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Communities Attacked.—The Mahomedans who comprise by far the
larger number of the inhabitants of the Central District were the chief
sufferers. They continued in their conservative way to accept disinfec-
tion with resignation, to object to go to hospital, and to neglect the use
of evacuation as a measure.
• Large numbers of the poorer classes escaped the epidemic this year.
Shoemakers who invariably suffered in previous years escaped to a notice-
able extent as they did last year. Probably they owed their immunity
to their having been inoculated last year.
The Jews were also singularly immune this year as they were in pre-
vious years.
Rats.—The District Officer, Captain Bolton gives his experience
about rats as follows :—
In Mahomedan quarters there is a difficulty in tracing the origin of dead rats. The
Mahomedan unlike the Hindoo will destroy rats himself, or, if he finds dead ones, will
throw them to the sweeper and not bother his head any more about them, and it is only by
cross-questioning him, that he will remember that a rat was found.
Many rats were sent from this district to the Government Laboratory, Parel, for
examination.
Many instances can be given by which infection was traced to rats. The circumstances
in every case were carefully enquired into.
On the gang finding rats, they were sent for examination to the Parel Laboratory,
the house register was examined to see the state of the house, the people were questioned,
and after a careful examination of each case, I have not the slightest hesitation in saying
that houses were, in the first instance, infected by rats.
Infected Places.—Captain Bolton reports on the way in which
certain houses were repeatedly infected despite disinfection as follows :—
Of the places disinfected in this district only 21/2 per cent. became re-infected,— a very
small proportion.
I have found re-infection to be due to rats. 1 give two excellent examples. First, 104,
Tank Street top floor—Plague kept recurring on this floor, in spite of all our efforts to stop
it. The measures as ordered for disinfection in the Government Resolution were strictly
carried out. At first I put the re-infection down to the faulty work of the gang, and they
had a bad time of it, but after Dr. Fraser and 1 had personally inspected the work
we decided the re-infection must be due to some other cause. The disinfection had
been done as high as the hand could reach, in consequence the ceiling had not been
touched. Over the flat was a loft which "Dr. Fraser and I decided to inspect. The
landlord who was as keen as ourselves, soon opened up a way for us. After our inspection
we decided to disinfect the loft, it was a large and difficult undertaking, but it had to be
done, and Dr. Fraser, Mr. Guider and myself started on the work with all the available
gangs we could get hold of. Such was the state of this loft which had not apparently been
visited for many years, with decayed matter, dead rats, &c., that many of the gang men who
had taken part in the work, were the next day reported sick with fever. There had been 9
cases of plague on this floor. After the disinfection of the loft no more cases occurred. Second,
this was house No. :37-38, Mahomed Khan Pakadi. Plague had occurred and the house had
become re-infected. Dr. Fraser and myself went on an inspection of the house. On the top
floor under the roof at each end of the staircase, were two closets, filled with building
material and rubbish. Although a difficult job we decided to disinfect them. The house has
been free since. We found dead rats in the closets, which were without doubt the cause of
the re-infection, as, after the disinfection no plague case has occurred in the house.
Re-infection has also been traced to bogus isolation and importation from outside.