NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
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of Madras, Bengal and Burma, after consulting the Mercantile
Community, consider that prohibitive orders should issue
with regard to all or any of the susceptible articles for the
protection of clean ports, the Government of India will be
prepared to consider proposals with this object.
(b) It is to be remarked that new gunny-bags are not
in the list of articles classed as susceptible by the Confer-
ence.
10. The portion of Chapter II which relates to traffic by
sea and the measures to be adopted at ports of arrival is of
great interest, not only because of its direct bearing on the
conditions of intercourse between India and Europe, but also
because it contains the conclusions of the Conference on the
important subject of the quarantine of vessels.
(a) The threefold division of vessels, referred to above,
is maintained in this chapter. The regulations respecting
infected vessels, are that the sick are to be landed and iso-
lated, and the remainder of those on board to be subjected, at
the discretion of the local authority, either to " observation "
or to " surveillance " for a period which is not to exceed ten
days from the occurrence of the last case of plague. The
term " observation" means the detention under observation
of the person either on board a ship or in a place of segrega-
tion on shore. Persons subjected to " surveillance " are not
to be isolated, but are to be allowed to proceed at once to
their destination where they are to remain under medical
supervision. In case of an infected ship the dirty linen and
other effects of the passengers and crew which the local
sanitary authorities may consider likely to be contaminated,
must be disinfected. So also must the parts of the ship
where the sick have resided, and the local authorities may
require a more extensive disinfection to be carried out.
Lastly the bilge-water must be thrown out after disinfection
and fresh drinking-water supplied.
(6) In the case of suspected vessels, a medical inspec-
tion and the same process of disinfection, discharge of bilge-
water and supply of fresh drinking-water is prescribed. It
is further recommended that the crew and passengers should
be subjected to " surveillance " for a period of ten days from
the date of arrival of the vessel. Pratique is to be given at
once to healthy vessels, but it is also provided that, at the
option of the local authority, the precautionary measures en-
forced in the case of suspected ships, except the disinfection
of the vessel, may be required; and it is also recommended
206
that the passengers and crew should be subject to " surveil-
lance " for a period sufficient to complete a term of ten days
from the date of departure of the vessel from the infected
port.
11. The quarantine rules made by the Governments of
Madras, Bengal and Burma under the powers conferred by
section I, Act I of 1870, with previous sanction of the Gov-
ernor-General in Council to protect their ports from being
regarded by the European powers as infected, prescribe fifteen
days' quarantine for all vessels in which a case of plague
is found on arrival, or on which it is believed that a case
has occurred during the voyage, with this exception that the
rules for Calcutta apparently prescribe only eight days' qua-
rantine in the latter case. In the Bombay Presidency all the
principal ports are infected and the Government of Bombay
have issued special rules regarding inspection, segregation
and disinfection at these ports. Under the rules of the
other Maritime Governments, no communication may be
held with other boats or vessels or with the shore whilst the
vessel remains in quarantine, but the Health officer may
direct the removal of so many of the passengers and crew as
may not be suffering from illness, and whose services may
not be required on board, to places of segregation on shore
where they are required to complete the period of quarantine.
If a case of plague occurs whilst the quarantine is in pro-
gress quarantine recommences for a further period of fifteen
days.
(a) The period of fifteen days' quarantine was fixed in
view of the possibility that some of the. Governments in
Europe might not regard quarantine as effective if it were
prescribed for a shorter period, but now that the Conference
has authoritatively pronounced that the period of incubation
may be taken at ten days, the period of observation should
be reduced from fifteen to ten days. The quarantine rules
in the case of vessels on which there is a case of plague at
the time of arrival, or on which it is believed that a plague
case has occurred during the voyage, should also be modified
in accordance with the regulations framed by the Conference
for infected vessels. The Government of Madras have
already revised their rules in a similar direction. The
Governor-General in Council lays special stress upon the
undesirability of detaining the sick and healthy on boardship
together. The sick should be landed and treated in an iso-
lation hospital, and the healthy should be landed and detained
under observation in suitable segregation shelter for a period
207
of ten days from the occurrence of the last case. The disin-
fection and other precautionary measures prescribed by the
Conference should also be complied with.
12. The quarantine rules framed by the Maritime Govern-
ments differ somewhat from one another as regards the
treatment of vessels on which no case of plague has occurred
during the voyage. Their general purport is to the effect
that eight days' quarantine may be imposed at the absolute
or limited discretion of the Health officer unless pratique has
been granted at Colombo or some other intermediate port.
(a) The maximum period of detention of a vessel on
which the Health officer is satisfied that no case of plague
has occurred should be ten days from the date of departure
from the infected port. If the Health officer is not satisfied
that there has really been no case on board or if ten days have
not elapsed since the date of departure from the infected port,
the vessel may be detained, at his discretion, up to this
period. In any case in which a vessel is given free pratique
less than ten days after her departure from the infected port,
the Health officer should be empowered, on the analogy of
the rules for the observation of persons travelling by railway
which have been framed by several of the Local Governments,
to detain under observation in a suitable place of segregation,
up to a maximum of ten days from the date of the departure
of the vessel, any person landed from the ship whom he may
consider to be in any way likely to carry infection. Any
articles of clothing or other effects belonging to the persons
detained or to other persons which by reason of their dirty
condition or otherwise may be considered likely to be conta-
minated, should be disinfected. Discretion may be given to
the Health officer to apply the other provisions regarding
disinfection, &c., prescribed by the Convention in the case of
suspected ships. The Local Government may also make such
arrangements as are possible for the surveillance of persons
who are not detained, on arrival at their destination. Free
pratique granted at Colombo or other intermediate port
should be recognized.
(6) I am to request that, with the permission of the Gov-
ernor in Council, the quarantine rules in force in the Madras
Presidency may be modified in accordance with the above
remarks, and that a copy of the revised rules may be for-
warded to this Department for insertion in the Government
of India Gazette.
13. The remainder of the Convention does not call for
special comment.
208
CHAPTER XI.
MISCELLANEOUS ORDERS.
(1)—Plague Correspondence.
1. All correspondence about plague and pilgrims returning
from the Hedjaz should be addressed to the Secretary to
Government, Local and Municipal Department, and should
be marked with the word ' Plague ' in red ink on the out-
side covers and on the left hand corner of the papers. All
communications, except reports or returns on printed forms,
should be forwarded with a docket sheet, copies of which are
supplied by the Superintendent, Government Press.
(G.O., No. 379-M., dated 4th March 1897 ; No. 2414-M., dated 2nd November 1897 ;
P.C., No. 94, dated 11th January 1899.)
2. All references regarding account matters should be
addressed to, or forwarded through, the Accountant-General.
(P.C., No. 672, dated 14th November 1898.)
3. Plague correspondence should be entered in a separate
current register, and the papers shown against a new item
' Plague ' in the quarterly business returns. A separate series
of numbers should be given to the disposals, and the question
of destroying or retaining them settled in accordance with
the mode indicated in Board's Proceedings, No. 101, dated
18th April 1898. As regards passports, however, they are of
no use after the expiration of the ten days' period of observa-
tion and may then be destroyed except in cases where they
are required or likely to be required in connection with any
prosecution or for any special purpose.
(B.P., Land Rev., No 19, dated 21st January 1899 ; No. 45, dated 14th February
1899; P.C., No. 1171, dated 1st May 1899; and G.O., No. 1213-P., dated 7th
August 1S99.)
4. The Government does not consider it necessary that
copies of all printed Government orders relating to plague
matters should ordinarily be supplied to Medical Subordi-
nates, Sanitary Inspectors or Chairmen of Unions, or to each
Member of a Municipal Council. Where necessary, district
circulars should be issued to subordinate officers embodying
the purport of the Government orders. Spare copies of
Government orders are at present distributed in accordance
with the statement printed in Plague Commissioner's Proceed-
ings, No. 982, dated 14th April 1899.
(G.O., No. 580-P., dated 15th June 1898.)
209
5. The Deputy Adjutant-General, Madras Command, has
requested that copies of all orders passed by the Government,
the Plague Commissioner and the District officers in regard to
the prevention and suppression of plague may be forwarded
to him and to the General Officers Commanding.
(P.O., No. 803, dated 28th November 1898 ; No. 944, dated 18th December 1898.)
6. The Superintendent, Government Press, should supply
all Collectors with the required number of copies of notifica-
tion of lists of plague-infected areas for circulation with
District Gazettes.
(G.O., No. 1392.P., dated 20th September 1890.)
C )—Plague Regulations.
1. Copies of all regulations issued by the Government of
Madras under the Epidemic Diseases Act should be furnished
to the Government of India as soon after issue as possible,
and also to all other local Governments and Administrations
as it is desirable that all local Governments and Adminis-
trations should be aware of the measures adopted in other
parts of India, and the experience of one province may be of
assistance to other provinces.
(G.O., No. 238-M., dated 18th February 1897 ; No. 294 M.,
dated 25th February 1897.)
2. Due notice will be given by Government as soon as it
is considered safe to relax any of the restrictions now imposed
on trade and on the movement of passengers. Until then,
they should be carefully observed.
(G.O., No. 1674-M., dated 9th July 1897.)
3. Collectors and Presidents of District Boards should
exercise prudence and care in working the regulations and
obtain the best medical, sanitary or other advice before taking
action.
(G.O., No. 219-A.M., dated 15th February 1897.)
4. In Cantonments, the Military authorities are imme-
diately responsible for carrying out the plague measures, and
Collectors should delegate to them the necessary powers under
the Plague Regulations.
(P.O., No. 886, dated 9th December 1898 ; No. 165, dated 19th January 1899.)
5. By Command Order, No, 687, dated 18th November
1898, all ranks in the Madras Command are directed to obey
the Plague Regulations, and any infringement of them is
punishable as a military offence. And the Superintendent
of Pensions has, under instructions from Command Head-
quarters, issued a circular (No. II, dated 14th December
1898) warning all pensioners that any disobedience or wilful
27
210
neglect of the regulations or obstruction to any official on
plague duty will be treated as a breach of the good conduct
required by Government as a condition of the continuation of
their pensions, and that any pensioner being guilty thereof
will be liable to have his pension stopped forthwith, and the
same reduced or permanently withdrawn.
(P.C., No. 684, dated 16th November 1898; No. 956, dated 19th December 1898.)
6. If the Police are informed that a person is evading the
Plague Regulations by giving a false name or a wrong address,
they can act under section 57 of the Criminal Procedure
Code, and detain the person until satisfied that they have got
his true name and address. Failing information as to true
name and address or the execution of a bond, the Police can
forward the person to a Magistrate.
(G.O., No. 1206-P., dated 30th September 1898.)
7. The Plague Commissioner has published, for the infor-
mation of the village officials and of the general public, three
circulars explaining briefly the plague rules and the policy of
Government with regard to Plague administration. They
have been translated in Tamil, Telugu, Canarese, Malayalam
and Hindustani. Officers requiring copies should apply to
the Superintendent, Government Press, who has been re-
quested to keep the circulars in type in all the languages,
and to supply copies according to requirements.
(P.C., No. G52, dated 11th November 1898.)
(3)—Plague Reports and Returns.
1. When a case of plague, genuine or suspected, is first
discovered in any place, the Collector or any gazetted officer,
who may be at the head-quarter station of the district, should
immediately telegraph the fact to the Plague Commissioner
(or to the Secretary to Government, Local and Municipal
Department, when there is no Plague Commissioner), to the
Sanitary Commissioner and to the Surgeon-General, stating
how the case was discovered, whether it was indigenous or
imported, and in the latter case, whence it was imported,
what steps have been taken for the treatment of the patient
and for the segregation of the contacts, and such further
particulars with dates as may be thought necessary. Further
details should be furnished by post as early as practicable, if
possible within 48 hours. This report should be in the form
prescribed in Plague Commissioner's Proceedings, No. -845,
dated 5th December 1898, and need be sent only to the Plague
and Sanitary Commissioners. A separate report should be
211
furnished for each, imported case unless the persons attacked
belong to the same party, but where plague is indigenous, it
is sufficient if the officer in charge of operations sends to the
Plague Commissioner a brief weekly report stating the number
of attacks and deaths, the measures taken and the success
they meet with, the attitude of the people, the method of
infection (e.g., by air, imperfectly dried, dust, infected soil and
habitations, articles of apparel, merchandise and domestic
use, by medium of rats, mice, squirrels, cats and infected
water and food) and any other matters of interest. This
report should contain the latest information available on
Thursday, and should be despatched direct to reach the Plague
Commissioner not later than Saturday morning.
(G.O., No. 829-P., dated 17th August 1898; Mo. 945-P., dated 29th August 1898 ;
P.C., No. 845, dated 5th December 1898 ; No. 979, dated 22nd December 1898 ; No.
457, dated 21st February 1899 ; and No. 559, dated 1st March 1899.)
2. All attacks and deaths should be telegraphed daily by
Collectors to the Plague Commissioner (or Government), the
Sanitary Commissioner and the Surgeon-General in the form
communicated with Plague Commissioner's Proceedings, No,
357, dated 8th February 1899. Nil telegrams are not
required. The Plague Commissioner should send a daily
telegram of plague cases to the Ceylon Government. The
Collectors of Chingleput, South Arcot, Tanjore, Trichinopoly,
Madura and Tinnevelly should also give telegraphic intimation
of plague in their districts to the Medical officer of the Ceylon
Government at Tuticorin. The cost of these telegrams will
be debited to the Ceylon Government by the Accountant-
GeneraL
(G.O., No. 829-P., dated 17th August 1898; No. 440-P., dated 25th March 1899 ;
P.C., No. 951, dated 12th April 1899; No. 866, dated 6th December 1898 ; and No. 25,
dated 5th January 1899.)
3. Bach Collector should keep in his office a plague record,
to which officers on plague duty in his district should be
requested to contribute brief notes on any matter they may
consider of importance in perfecting measures against the
disease, or desirable of being placed on record with a view to
adding force to theories already assented to, or controverting
them from (1) an administrative, (2) medical, and (3) sanitary
point of view. Weekly extracts from this record of the por-
tion bearing on sanitation should be sent to the Sanitary
Commissioner.
(P.C., No. 951, dated 12th April 1899.)
4. In Mysore, the amildars and deputy amildars in charge
of taluks and sub-taluks bordering on the British districts are
212
required to give immediate information of the occurrence
of plague within their jurisdiction direct to the Tahsildars of
the neighbouring British taluks, and Deputy Commissioners
have been requested to keep the Collectors of adjoining
British districts promptly informed of the occurrence of plague
in the neighbouring districts in Mysore. Collectors of British
districts bordering on Mysore should arrange to give similar
information direct to the officials of the Darbar.
(P.C., No. 481, dated 22nd February 1899.)
5. The Sanitary Commissioner is required to publish a
weekly return of plague in the Presidency as soon as possible
after the close of each week, and send copies of it direct to—
the Government of India,
the Governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and
Ceylon,
the Residents in Hyderabad, Mysore and Travancore
and Cochin,
the Chief Commissioner, Coorg,
all Collectors,
all Chairmen of Municipal Councils and the President,
Municipal Commission, Madras,
the Surgeon-General,
the Editors of the Madras Newspapers.
(Memorandum No. 104-P., dated 17th August 1898 ; G.O., No. 1033-P., dated
8th September 1898.)
(4)—Sanitary Commissioner's Tours.
1. The Collector should invariably be informed of the
Sanitary Commissioner's visits to his district, and whenever
possible such timely notice should be given as may enable
him. to make any arrangements that may be necessary for the
attendance of a local officer on the Sanitary Commissioner
during his inspection.
(G.O., No. 1354-M., dated 3rd June 1897.)
2. The Sanitary Commissioner is requested not to address
the general public on plague measures without the special
consent of the Collector of the district. It is very doubtful
whether at present anywhere any good is gained by trying to
explain the Plague Regulations to any public audience.
Unless done with the greatest care, opposition is stirred up
rather than allayed.
(P.C., No. 527, dated 5th November 1898.)
213
(5)—Duties of the Railway Staff.
The following are the duties of the Railway officials under
the Plague Regulations:
(1) To prevent passengers from infected areas from
alighting at any station other than an inspection station, and
to insist on their proceeding to the inspection station if it is
suspected that the passengers are evading the inspection by
so alighting.
(Regulations 18 and 19, page 34.)
(2) To see with the aid of the platform police that
passengers alighting at a railway station do not leave the
premises except by the proper exit.
(Paragraph 3, page 178.)
(3) To see that the railway tickets issued in an infected
area and the fresh tickets issued to persons from infected
areas who rebook are clipped as prescribed.
(P.C. No. 302, dated 21st October 1898 ; No. 461, dated 21st February 1899.)
(4) To stop all passengers presenting plague-punched
tickets from infected or notified stations until their names
and addresses are taken down, and they are given passports
either by the plague official appointed for the purpose or by
the station staff themselves at smaller stations.
(a. of T. Order printed in G.O., No. 273-M., dated 23rd February 1897,
and G.O., No. 816-A. M., dated 6th April 1897.)
(5) To carry in a railway compartment vacated for
the purpose persons suffering from plague and their contacts
to the nearest station where segregation accommodation is
available.
(Regulation 14-A, page 30.)
(6) To disinfect railway carriages from infected areas
and carriages in which persons suffering from plague have
travelled.
(Regulations 20 and 20-A, pages 35 and 36.)
(7) To take steps for tracing and destroying rats that
may arrive from infected areas concealed in the goods
imported.
(G.O., No. 738-P., dated 2nd August 1898; P.C., No. 191, dated 14th October 1898.)
(8) To put up a notice in all railway carriages inti-
mating that passengers from infected parts should take out
passports at stations of destination.
(Paragraph 2, page 178.)
214
(9) To lock the carriages before the arrival of the train
at the inspection station.
(Paragraph. 3, page 174.)
(10) To detain the train until the medical inspection
is over.
(Paragraph 2, page 174.)
(11) To see that no passenger is permitted to leave his
carriage until in orderly course the arrangement shall be
complete for his examination.
(Paragraph 3, page 174.)
(12) To give every assistance to the medical officers
conducting the inspection in order to minimise the detention
of trains.
(Paragraph 2, page 174.)
(13) To carry out the instructions regarding the trans-
mission of the names and addresses of passengers.
(Regulation 17 (viii), page 33 ; paragraph 15, page 182.)
(14) To afford every facility to wards the working of the
Plague Regulations generally.
(G.O., No. 1165-P., dated 2Gth September 1898.)
(6)—Plague Research Laboratory, Bombay.
]. The following rules should be observed by officers
when sending fresh materials to the Research Laboratory for
bacteriological examination:—
A.—Dead animals, rats, &c.—
(i) These should only be sent if freshly dead or at least
before any signs of putrefaction are evident.
(ii) If sent by post from outlying stations, they should be
most carefully packed in ice, no spirit or other pre-
servative fluid of any kind being used: water-tight
bottles or cases being used in each case.
(iii) In Bombay they ought to be sent by special messenger
at once, or if found late at night, to be packed in ice
and despatched early the following morning.
B.—Excreta, sputa and the like—
(i) These should be sent in carefully stoppered and sealed
bottles.
(ii) No fluid of a preservative nature ought to be added to
them.
C.—When any of the above articles are sent by post, the rules laid
down by the Grovernment of India in Resolution No. 1077—1086 of
9th August 1898 should bo observed, viz., " great care should be taken
that the stopper or cork of the bottle fits tightly." " The stopper should
be carefully tied down with bladder or leather and sealed."