15
36. On the contrary, the epidemic of 1900 01 was more severe and widespread
than any of its predecessors, and there were outbreaks of the disease in parts of the districts
far beyond the borders of the " inoculated area." There was good reason to hope until the
disease made its re-apperance on October 3rd, 1900, that the object of these inoculation
operations had been attained and that plague had been stamped out. For never before
since its first appearance in the Punjab had the disease remained so long in abeyan ce. The
interval betwen the last case of the epidemic of 1897-98 and the first case of that of 1898-99
was 62 days, and between the last case of the second epidemic and the first case of
the epidemic of 1899-1900 49 days, while 107 days elapsed before the disease again
made its appearance after the occurrence of the last case of the epidemic of 1899-1900.
37. For some time too it seemed as if the alternative hope with which the inocu-
lation operations were undertaken—namely, that any attacks of plague which might follow
would be much less severe and, therefore, easier to check than that of previous year—
might be realised.
38. A statement is given below in which are shown the plague cases and deaths
occurring monthly from October 1897 onwards, from which it will be seen that, except as
regards 1898-99, the number of cases up to the end of February was less in the present
than in any previous year, and that it exceeded that of the year just mentioned by only 6.
It should be said here that the staff on plague duty was much stronger in 1898-99
relatively to the number of infected villages than during any other epidemic: —
Statement showing the number of Plague Cases end Deaths in the Jullundur and
Hoshiárpur Districts month'y from October 1897 to September 1901.
October
November
...
December
...
January
...
February
...
March
...
April
...
May
June
...
July
August
...
September
...
Total
1897-98.
Cases.
72
96
134
36
283
1,001
1,064
687
31
6
3
0
3413
Deaths.
39
39
97
23
152
654
610
481
18
1
0
0
2,114
1898
Cases.
8
7
II
3
18
43
212
76
24
15
2
0
419
99.
Deaths.
0
9
7
0
II
28
118
39
9
2
2
I
226
1899-1900.
Cases.
18
14
26
61
114
284
193
142
7
0
0
0
859
Deaths.
9
10
21
44
77
164
134
67
4
0
0
0
530
1900-01.
Cases.
3
5
11
10
24
301
1,885
1,665
240
20
29
256
4,449
Deaths.
0
0
6
7
12
113
796
936
154
IS
16
101
2,156
39. When it became evident that plague had not been stampted out inoculation was
vigorously pushed during the early part of the epidemic of 1900-01.
40. As villages became infected a large proportion of the population not only of the
infected villages themselves but of those in their neighbourhood was inoculated. This
was only possible as long as plague was confined to a few villages, and when, as after the
middle of March the disease spread rapidly, the time of Plague Medical Officers was so
occupied with other duties that they were unable to devote much attention to inoculation.
41. A reference to Statement No. 6 attached in which is given the number of
inoculations performed in the Jullundur and Hoshiárpur Districts, week by week, through-
out the year under report will show that of the 180,720 inoculations performed during the
year only 3,815 were performed after the end of March. The number of inoculations per-
formed by each inoculator is given in Statement No. E, Appendix I.