14
The following is a report made by Dr. D'Avoine :—
I have the honour to inform you that the little girl, Vithee Gunput, aged
8 years, residing at No. 71, Matharpakady Road, died of Plague this noon. I believe
you will remember that I told you this morning, that the case was very interest-
ing and that I had -placed her under close observation. She was suffering
from fever for the last 9 or 10 days and was treated in some Railway Dispensary.
According to the history, the puls., tongue and general appearance, the case
looked exactly like Remittent Fever. This* morning, however, when I re-examined
her I found a gland in the right axilla ; the gland was very tender on pressure,
and, although the child was in a dying condition, she felt pain when I pressed the
swelling, while yesterday, although in a better condition, she did not feel any pain
at all, when glands were being looked for.
Some days ago, when I was acting in D Ward, I called the attention of Captain
Stuart to a similar case. A young woman living in Depot Lane, Gh'gaum, was
attacked with fever, 7 days before she was seen by me. On re-examination I
failed to delect any symptoms of Plague; in that case, too, the tongue, general
appearance, &c., did not look like Plague. I re-examined her on the 9th day and
found that a small gland had developed in the femoral region. She was removed
to Hospital.
My reason in calling your attention to these cases is that nowadays there are
many cases which are put down as Remittent Fever, most of them terminate fatnlly
in 5 or 6 days, before glands are developed. I urn inclined to think that these so-
called Remittent Fever are only a new form of Plague. According to the two
cases already mentioned it would appear that the glands developed very late
(after the 7th day) in case the patient has enough of the power of resistance to live
till that time, that the characteristic appearance of the tongue (red tip and edges) a
compressible and weak pulse and the stupor-like and prostrated conditions, are absent
in such cases.
Unfortunately, few cases live till the 7th or 8th day. In order to show further
experience I would suggest that microscopic examination of the blood be made in
such cases.
The following is a report made by Dr. Mathal :—
I inoculated the majority of the inmates of a Ghatee house, situated in D' Souza 1
Street. After a suspicious death I used to visit the house regularly, but failed to
detect any sickness, except one man suffering from chronic diarrhoea. Ten days
after the abovementioned suspicious death, a young woman died after a few hours
d .n,' rhcea, the same girl was seen by me the previous morning, but I could not
observe any serious illness which could have brought her end so soon.
Two days after this on examining the inmates of the house, I found four
persons unwell, with a rise of temperature of 100° and 101° without any other signs
of Plague. Next morning I was surprised to hear of three deaths in the same house.
Of these, one was my first diarrhoea patient under observation, and so the cause of
death was satisfactory in this case. The 2nd one was one of those cases I saw the
previous day, and the 3rd one, though not seen the previous day, I examined
tl:e body and failed to detect any signs of Plague. I may here add that out of
ihese many deaths in the house only one was inoculated. I am also informed by
another Sectional Medical Officer that lately he also has come across certain deaths,
occurring after a few hours diarrhoea ; besides histories of similar nature I hear
occasionally from the people of this section on my enquiring of the causes of death.
I on my part think all these are a variety of Plague (Enteric).