52
Removal of
Patients to
Hospital.
The compulsory removal of patients to hospital was the most un-
popular of all the old plague measures. Its abolition was consequently
hailed by the people with delight. The result, of course, has been that
fewer patients have been removed to hospital during the year under re-
port, the figures being 3,072 against 8,144 last year and on the other hand
the number of known plague cases treated at home has increased from
983 cases to 3,715 cases. Against this it must be remembered that the
new measures have removed fear and the tendency to conceal with the
consequence that the people have discontinued the old practice of moving
sick persons from one house to another in order to avoid their being sent
to hospital. The persons actually removed to hospital chiefly belonged to
the poorer classes who either themselves went voluntarily or were re-
moved when those in attendance found them too difficult to manage as
in cases of delirium. Others were driven to the hospital by poverty
and lack of friends.
Segregation
of Contacts.
It will be noticed that the number of contacts sent this year to the
various health camps and hospitals is less than a fourth of those sent under
compulsion last year to hospitals and camps. Nevertheless it reaches
the total of 6,346. The bulk of these were the friends or relations of
patients who accompanied them to hospital.
It is the opinion of many of the District Officers that the abandon-
ment of the policy of segregating contacts has resulted in the spread of
infection but against this it must be remembered that now the people remain
in their houses and make no general attempt to evade observation.
This renders it easier to keep an eye on their health.
Isolation of
Patients.
The isolation of patients who refused to go to hospital cannot be
described as satisfactory except in the comparatively few cases which
occurred in the houses of the well-to-do. Ordinarily the patient was kept
in the room in which he became ill, his family having nowhere else to go
remained with him and he was visited in the ordinary manner by many of
his friends. The plague staff did their best to induce the people to take
precautions, but their efforts met with little or no success. They carried
out such disinfection as was possible, had all clothing sterilised as often
as they could, but beyond that had to be content with watching the
health of the remaining members of the family.
Capt. Lockhart Mure discusses the subject of segregation of patients
in private quarters as follows :—
Though in theory it would be very nice if a private house were transferred
into practically a private hospital yet in practice you will find that no matter what
you do there is constant communication going on. Disinfectants are freely supplied
but you cannot prevent the constant going and coming of visitors into what is
generally an infected, badly lighted and badly ventilated house.
Doubtless this causes contact cases among the friends and to a certain extent
neighbours may also suffer, but at the same time I think it is questionable
whether the few extra cases are not amply compensated for by the absence of
concealment. The people will not hide cases or move them about from one place to
another when they quite understand that there is no object in their doing so.