14
Cordons.
" An important feature of the measure adopted in the Punjab for preventing the spread of plague has been
the employment of cordons. Cordons have been employ-
ed to restrict communication between the occupants of
villages or health camps with those of hospital or segregation camps, to prevent unauthorised persons entering
evacuated houses or villages (''inner cordons"), and lastly cordons were placed on the boundaries of the lands,
belongine to infected villages to prevent their inhabitants scattering and carrying infection elsewhere ("outer
cordons") Up to the end of the epidemic of 1899-1900 all these various cordons were employed. There have
been modifications in their constitution, army reserv sts pensioners and others having been gradually substitut-
ed for police, the employment of which was discontinued after July 1900 There have also been certain changes
in the rules with regard to the length of time during which different co dons were maintained, but until the
beginning of the presant epidemic the principle was adhered to of restricting the movements of al; the inhabitants
of infected villages by the means of cordons. The hospital and segregation and inner cordons have been main-
tained, but with the exception of Mehrámpur, which through a m.sunderstanding was cordoned for a single day
in October last, no village has been surrounded with an outer cordon during the present epidemic."
33. It will be apparent that, in addition to the great change whereby nearly all
restrictions upon the intercourse of the inhabitants of infected with those of uninfected
villages, the measures for dealing with the disease, although similar to those of former
years, were not, except in the early stage of the epidemic, carried out with the same
thoroughness as formerly.
The insufficiency of the medical staff to which references are made in the above
extracts will be best realised by comparing the strengths of this staff in the present with
that of former years.
This is done in the subjoined statement in which are given the strength of the
medical staff present at the height of the epidemic in 1897-98, 1898-99, 1899 1900 and
1900-01 : the number of villages infected with plague during these years is also given,
in order that the great weakness of the medical staff during the present year may be
the more readily appreciated.
Statement showing the Strength of the Medical Staff en Plague Duty in the Jullundur
and Hoshiárpur Districts in 1897-98, 1898-99, 1899-1900 and 1900-01.
Year.
1897-98
1898-99
...
1899-1900
1900-01
...
Number of infected Villages.
91
31
78
231
Medical Officers.
13
6
7
2*
Assistant Surgeons.
5
0
a
6
Female Medical Practitioners.
3
0
0
0
Hospital Assistant.
63
29
46
49
Compounders.
49
13
44
42
Nurses.
5
0
0
0
Dháis.
29
9
13
14
* One of these was the Civil Surgeon of Hoshiárpur who superintended plague operations in his district in
addition to his other duties.
It will be seen from this statement that in spite of the number of villages infected
in 1900-01 being more than twice the number of those infected in 1897-98, or nearly three
times as great as those in 1899-1900 the medical staff of the present epidemic was weaker
than in either of these previous years and that the weakness was most marked in its
most important number—the Medical Officers.
34. With the reduction in the strength of the medical staff there was a correspond-
ing reduction in the executive (Civil) staff, and from what has already been quoted above
regarding cordons it will be evident that the establishment employed in connection with the
measure was very much smaller than in previous years, This establishment which in
1897-98 consisted of I District Superintendent of Police, 4 Assistant District Superintendents
of Police, 4 Inspectors, 27 Deputy Inspectors, 272 Sergeants and 2,564 Constables and
was in comparison with the smaller number of infected villages but slightly weaker, in
1899-1900 was represented by a few hunderd "reservists" under the orders of the
Assistant Commissioner on executive plague duty.
35. From what has been already recorded to this report it will have been made
clear that the inoculation operations carried out in the Jullundur and Hoshiárpur Districts
during the hot weather of 1900 failed to prevent another epidemic of plague in the
" inoculated area " which, it may be well to repeat here, was until the present season
the only infected area in the Punjab.