NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
226
[CHAP. VIII.
Forty-one cases remained in the hospital on the 1st June 1897. No new cases being
Poona Central Plague
Hospital.
admitted on the 33st June 1807, there were only five remaining.
From the beginning of July, however, admissions increased
and continued to increase till they became very numerous,
the maximum of 493 patients in hospital being reached on the 15th November 1897 : and
the largest number of admissions, 63, was made on the 17th November 1897.
From this date the number slowly subsided, until on 31st March 1898 only 33 patients
remained. Beginning with the 2nd Bombay Lancers (July 1897) cases came in from
Kirkee (August 1897), Ghorpuri (August—September 1897), Bhosári and Poona City
(September 1897) : and towards the end of the same month from Poona Cantonment, Sadar
Bazár, Sholapur Bazar, 19th Bombay Infantry and 2nd Bombay Grenadiers also. The
worst months were November and December, Corrugated iron was used for roofs during
the monsoon only, and throughout the wards were quite dry and rain-proof. In this con-
nection it may be mentioned that Mr. Lyon personally superintended the erection of all the
wards, and succeeded in building them when it was difficult to get the necessary labour.
There were in all 36 wards, with accommodation for some 440 people : and 47 tents which
could receive some 188 more. The latter were practically reserved for males : females
being put into the wards. There was never any overcrowding : and sufficient ventilation
at night was secured by the few feet of space between the walls and roofs.
Rows of huts were built for the staff and establishment, which at one time numbered
320. Of these 104 were ward-boys and ayahs and 59 were Police and watchmen.
The latrine, water-supply, and bathing arrangements were good : and the drainage,
which at first was unsatisfactory, was afterwards improved. Fire drill was practised : and
a bell at noon daily was a signal for a general disinfection of the floors with perchloride of
mercury 1 in 1,000. A soap-and-water bath, followed by one of perchloride of mercury,
invariably preceded the discharge of the cured. Clothes were always disinfected by
boiling. As regards suspects, no record of daily numbers was kept : but the total
number was 1,593, of whom 650 were ultimately admitted to hospital for plague. The
hospital was generously supported by the Poona public, not only money, but flannel, clothes,
etc., being given. The latter were distributed to the poor on discharge : the former being
spent on fruit and luxuries for the sick.
Sex.
1
Males ... ... ...
Females ... ... ...
Children (ten and under).
Total ...
Romaining
2
20
13
8
41
ADMISSIONS.
From 1st June
1897 to 31st
March 1893.
3
1,723
1,706.
709
4,138
Total.
4
1,743
1,719
717
4,179
Deaths
5
1,244
1,152
440
2,3 3G
Recoveries.
6
480
556
274
1,310
Percentage
of deaths
to re-
coveries.
7
68.2*
63.9*
53.9*
64.1*
Romaining on 31st March 1896.
8
19
11
3
33
* In calculating these percentages, 489 moribund cases have been deducted both from admissions and deaths
and 33 remaining ones from admissions only.
POONA DISTRICT.]
239
The monthly figures from February to June 1899 for both City and District were as
follows :—
Month.
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
1898
,,
,,
1899
...
...
..
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Total
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
POONA DISTRICT
excluding Poona City).
Cases.
56
176
435
632
370
182
115
77
80
29
24
25
2,201
Deaths.
43
148
329
458
317
151
89
58
67
23
17
15
1,715
ΡOONA CITY.
Cases.
o
8
9
7
3
10
3
50
472
362
275
482
1,683
Deaths.
2
6
4
3
...
6
3
38
464
296
224
385
1,431
REMARKS.
23 places infected in all.
A Chart showing weekly Plague mortality in Poona District is given overleaf.
POONA CITY
Including Cantonment and Suburbs.
Population 161, 390.
Chart showing Plague Mortality.
POONA DISTRICT.
Chart showing Plague Mortality
SIND.
Chart showing Plague Mortality
241
5ATARA DISTRICT.
Area ... ... ...
Population in 1891
Density of population
Rainfall ... ... ...
4,987 sq. miles.
1,225,989.
245.84 per sq. mile.
Average 50 inches.
Boundaries.
Sátára is bounded on the north by the States of Bhor and Phaltan, and beyond them
by Poona ; on the east by Sholápur and the Jath State ; on
the south by Belgaum and Kolhápur ; and on the west by the
Kolába and Ratnágiri District.
Climate and natural features.
In the west water is fairly abundant. In the east, hot weather after hot weather, and
want of water causes much suffering. The supply comes partly
from rivers and streams, partly from reservoirs, and partly
from wells, which are numerous, but in many cases run dry during the hot season. The
Sátára climate is a marked change from the moist and relaxing Konkan. It is liable to
aggravate fever and render it more acute by contracting the surface vessels and forcing
inwards an increased flow of blood. The adverse condition is limited to the dry season,
or at least is considerably modified during the soft mild and damp south-west monsoon.
The soils of the District belong to three main classes, red in the hills and black and
light-coloured in the plains. The soil of the Krishna valley is especially rich.
About thirty-three miles north-west of Sátára, is Mahábaleshvar, the chief sanitarium of
the Bombay Presidency.
Previous epidemics.
There is no previous authentic record of plague in Sátára.*
Sátára District.
Population—225,989.
First Epidemic (October 1896—June 1897).—The Sátára District, one of the earliest
attacked in the whole Presidency, fell a prey to plague while it
was yet suffering from a famine of great severity. Imported
plague was reported in the District as early as October 1896,
during which month 4 cases (all fatal) occurred. These were followed by 25 cases—
21 deaths—in the month of November 1896. But only in a few instances did these cases
communicate infection, though precautions of any kind were almost wholly absent. Thus
in January and February 1897, indigenous plague broke out in the villages of Sangwi
(Koregaon Táluka) and Akhade, Waluth, Panas and Khadshi (Jáoli Táluka), the infection
having been imported from Bombay. Of these places, Sangwi, Akhade and Waluth suffered
somewhat severely : but the villagers camped in the fields of their own accord, and the
plague died out in a short time. A few more cases were imported in March and in the first
week of April 1897.
No more was heard of plague in the District until it broke out at Karád in July with
terrible severity : and with the above cases, therefore, the epidemic in the Sátára District
may be said to end: The figures were as follows :—
"Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XIX.
61
242
[CHAP. VIII.
October
November
January
February
March
April
Month.
1896
,,
1897
,,
,,
,,
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Total ...
Cases.
4
25
8
28
15
6
86*
Deaths.
4
21
8
15
15
6
69*
Karád Town.
Population—12,086.
Second Epidemic (June 1897—June 1898).—Alike in its inception and progress, the
history of plague in Karád Town is a startling one. Plague
was not declared existent until the 7th July 1897 ; and in view
of that fact, the following statement made by Captain J. B.
Smith, I. M. S., is not without significance :—
"Plague was reported by Mr. F. B. Young, Superintendent of Land Records and
Agriculture, C. D., as existing in the end of January, or beginning of February 1897, in the
following places in the Karád Táluka :—
Karád
Khadshi
Wahagaon
Chore
Belavada
Páli
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
..
...
...
...
1
2
1
7
2
4
1
2
1
7
2
4
" Mr. Young's tour in the Sátára District lasted from 10th January to the 17th
February 1897. He did not see any of the cases himself, and could not state if there were
any buboes."
Nevertheless, subsequent events, coupled with the steady rise in the total mortality,
appear to justify the view that this was really the beginning of plague in Karád ; and that,
though it took some time to fully develop, it was undo ubtedly active in March and April
1897, doing its deadly work long before it was recognized. The average mortality during
the previous five years appears in striking contrast with the actual mortality during 1897 :—
March
April
May
June
July
...
...
···
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Actual, 1897.
30
40
108
52
213
Average.
21
21
29
25
24
REMARKS.
For four years
eluding 1894, when
was cholera).
only (ex-
when there
The heavy rise in the mortality could not but give rise to alarm. People began to
suspect that a disease which did not simultaneously break out in several parts of the town,
but attacked one locality after another, and which claimed so many victims, was no ordinary
one. Rumours soon arose that it was plague : and in May a resident of Karád wrote to
* Mostly indigenous.
244
[CHAP. VIII.
Robertson, I. M. S., arrived, followed by Lieutenant Garrett, I. S. C., who, however, had to
return to military duty within a week. About this time also a Non-Commissioned Officer
and six sepoys of the 2nd Bombay Grenadiers arrived; the staff was otherwise increased, and
three European Inspectors were available. The Plague Hospital was extended; contacts
segregated in camps; house-to-house search instituted; infected houses systematically
disinfected; and the disposal of corpses without certificates of death prohibited. But the
people were terrified: and a wild exodus from the town began, which was ultimately
responsible for an outbreak in the villages, as severe as that in the town. The flight of
the people, however, accelerated the subsidence of plague in the town itself. In the first
week of October there had been 41 cases—30 deaths; in the last week there were but
7 cases—7 deaths. The largest number of cases in one day was 57 on the 24th August,
and of deaths 40 on the 30th August. The total numbers of cases and deaths during
October, November and December 1897 were as follows:—
Month.
October
1897
November
"
December
"
Cases.
106
19
9
Deaths.
76
17
6
KARAD.
Population 13,209.
Plague now ceased in Karád Town, and, a few dropping cases excepted, did not re-appear
for nearly a year; and then only in a mild form.
Sátára District.
Population—1,225,989.
The flight of the people from the Town of Karád, and its effect on the spread of the
plague, have been noticed above. There was indeed an
Observation Camp at Karád, and residents were not allowed
to leave the town until the area within 50 yards of their houses had been free for a period
246
[CHAP.
VIII.
27th September, when systematic disinfection was taken in hand. On the 20bh October 1897
it was complete : over 1,000 houses having been disinfected.
The pestilence disappeared from Kaledhon towards the end of October 1897 : having
more than decimated the town in less than two months. The figures reported were 602
cases—452 deaths.
Khatáv, Khánápir and
Mán Tálukas.
Turning from Kaledhon to the other villages attacked in the Khatáv. Khánápur and
Man Tálukas during this—the second—epidemic, 26
villages in all were attacked in them. The source of infection
in most of them was either Kaledhon or Karád. Importation was almost invariably
followed by abnormal mortality : but apathy and concealment neutralized the vigilance and
efforts of the District Deputy Collector. With the arrival of the Flying Column, however,
greater control was possible. Surprise visits were paid to villages and death registers
scrutinized. Thus plague was either warded off by prompt attention to imported cases, or
detected in an inceptive stage. As the people became better acquainted with its nature,
they put forth spontaneous efforts for their own protection, by preventing the entry of people
from infected localities; in many cases with considerable success, of which Vita, Mayani
and Pusesávli are conspicuous instances.
The suppressive measures adopted from the beginning of October 1897 throughout these
Tálukas were briefly as follows :—
1. Early evacuation of affected villages.
2. Regular and careful search for cases among the people encamped.
3. Removal of patients to small huts built on a selected site ; hospitals being
regarded with disfavour by the people.
4. Destruction of the clothes of patients, and of the huts in which cases occurred.
5. Precautions with regard to the disposal of the dead.
6. Disinfection and segregation of inmates of affected huts.
7. Disinfection of whole villages and opening up of houses for admission of sun
and air.
8. House-to-house inspection for 10 days after re-occupation.
These measures were attended with a fair amount of success.
The attacks and deaths in each of the three Tálukas were as follows :—
Táluka.
Khatáv (excluding Kaledhon)
Khánapur
Mán ...
...
...
Add— Figures for Kaledhon
...
...
...
Total
...
...
··
Cases.
332
1,118
478
1,928
596
2,524
Deaths.
253
900
347
1,509
448
1,957
REMARKS.
26
villages in
all
attacked.
Karád Táluka.
The Flying Column under Captain J. B. Smith at Karád has already been referred
to. But no sooner was the epidemic in that town con-
trolled, than the villages in the Karád Táluka demanded
attention ; and the number of them attacked before the end
SATARA DISTRICT.]
247
of January 1898 in this Táluka alone was 57. In the first week of September 1897,' seven
villages returned about 100 cases. On the 4th September, Lieutenant Robertson, I. M. S.,
took charge of the villages in the Karád Táluka and succeeded in several cases in detecting
plague at places where it had been carefully concealed. But the extent of his charge largely
discounted the efficacy of his endeavours : for whatever good he was able to effect on his
arrival at a village, was undone on his departure. Nevertheless, the surprise visits which he
paid to villages, and the scrutiny exercised by him over village death registers, acted as
valuable checks.
Amongst the places which suffered most severely in the Karád Táluka was the town
Masur.
Population—6,703.
of Masur, a well-to-do agricultural and commercial centre,
second in importance only to Karád itself. Some people of
Masur visited Karád and brought infection thence in the
second week of August 1897. During the two succeeding weeks only one indigenous
case occurred ; but this was soon followed by others. The first few cases all occurred
amongst the Rámoshis, who were quickly turned out. Nevertheless infection soon spread to
the other classes; and the monsoon prevented general evacuation. Efforts were therefore
confined to the isolation and treatment of the sick. Lieutenant Robertson occasionally visited
Masur, and Mr. P. E. Percival, I. C. S., Assistant Collector, devoted special attention to
it. Later on (in November) it formed the chief part of the charge of Mr. A. D. Wilkins,
Divisional Forest Officer, who was constituted a Plague Authority for Masur and the
surrounding country. Many of the agricultural and commercial inhabitants left the town,
some escaping to other villages and some merely vacating their houses and living in camp.
In November 1897, owing to the cessation of the rains, evacuation became practicable and
was generally enforced.
As in Karád, as in Kaledhon, so in Masur, disinfection was carried out extensively,
All the houses in town—about 1,000—were not only completely disinfected, but had the roof
opened up to admit light and air.
The results may be seen in the following figures which trace the progress of the epidemic
week by week :—
Week ending
28th August
4th September
11th ,,
18th ,,
25th ,,
2nd October
9th „
16th „
23rd „
30th
„
6th November
13th
,,
20th
„
27th
„
1897
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
,,
„
„
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Cases.
14
20
15
31
17
80
25
57
67
75
48
40
24
8
Deaths.
7
14
15
27
7
26
18
51
63
75
48
40
22
7
REMARKS.
Evacuation pro-
ceeding.
Evacuation com-
plete.
SATARA DISTRICT.]
249
Week ending
1st October 1897
8th
"
"
15th " "
22nd " "
29th " "
5th November "
12th " "
19th " "
26th
"
"
3rd December "
10th " "
17th " "
24th " "
31st
"
"
7th January 1898
14th " "
Total ...
Cases.
35
27
35
51
110
75
53
41
47
23
18
11
5
2
1
1
535
Deaths.
26
19
31
48
83
71
50
27
30
22
20
15
6
3
1
1
453
TASGAON TOWN
Population 11,261.
No case was reported after the 14th January 1898.
Tásgaon Táluka.
From the Town to the Táluka was but a step. There was little restriction on the move-
ments of the townspeople, and their dispersion led to an out-
break all over the Táluka. But unlike most other places in
the District, the people left the village directly cases occurred among them, and, in fact,
in some instances before plague was notified. This action had the very beneficial result of
limiting the number of attacks. Out of the 20 villages attacked in Assistant Surgeon
Merchant's charge, only two had not been so evacuated, viz., Chinchni and Bhose. The
former, with a population of 3,155, had 255 attacks and 204 deaths ; the latter with a smaller
population—2,445—had very nearly the same proportion of cases and deaths, viz., 188 and
144 respectively. In other words, about 8 per cent. of the population were attacked in these
two villages. On the other hand, in the evacuated villages the attacks were in all cases,
except that of Doongersoni, under 4 per cent. of the population, being less than 2 per cent.
in 9 cases. In Doongersoni alone the proportion was over 9 per cent., doubtless due to
tardy evacuation. There was a general subsidence towards the end of the year 1897, but
fresh villages were attacked and the epidemic lingered on in this Táluka after the disease
had subsided everywhere else in the District. This is attributed to the continued outbreak in
the Southern Marátha Country whence infection was freely brought into Tásgaon. In any
case plague did not die out in Tásgaon Táluka during the hot weather, and was ultimately
responsible for the third epidemic in the District. Up to the end of May 1898 there
were 1,218 cases and 946 deaths in the Tásgaon Táluka, exclusive of those in Tásgaon Town.
Sátára Town.
Population—29,601.
Plague in the Sátára District had already reached its zenith in October 1897, and a
marked, though gradual, decline had set in in the month of
November 1897, when the town of Sátára was attacked. The
first imported case had come from Bombay, and occurred on the 10th January 1897, but was
not allowed to establish infection; 5 more cases were imported in February, but were
63
SATARA DISTRICT.]
251
Although complete evacuation was not enforced, large numbers of people were turned
out, and at one time the people in the town numbered but 3,000. Thorough disinfection of
every house in the town was carried out under a system which gave no cause for complaint-
The property of absent owners was carefully secured.
In the month of October 1897, there were 3 cases and 2 deaths, and in November 24
cases with ] 7 deaths : thereafter the monthly figures are given below—those for January
1898, the worst month, being given in detail :—
Month.
December 1897 — 5 weeks
January
February
March
April
1898—4 „ ...
,,
__
4
,,
···
,,
__
5 ,, ···
,, — 1 week
Total
...
...
...
...
...
Cases.
193
339
110
43
2
687
Deaths.
147
287
105
36
3
578
REMARKS.
7th
...
14th ...
2st ...
28th ...
78
93
89
79
69
76
74
68
Plague practically ceased at the end of March 1898; although in April there were
2 cases and 3 deaths. A census of the people in camp was taken in this month, and re-occupa-
tion was permitted on the 20th May : those not shown on the census lists or not certified to
have lived in uninfected localities being first detained outside the town for 10 days.
From April to June 1898 there was comparatively very little plague in the Sátára District.
The characteristic features of this epidemic were its duration, and the large number of
places attacked. This second epidemic lasted for about a year—May 1897 to April 1898—
and 217 places were attacked. The monthly figures for the whole District, including all the
towns and villages, are given below :—
Month.
July
1897
August
„
September „
October
„
November „
December „
January 1898
February „
March
„
April „
May „
June
„
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Total
...
...
...
...
...
Cases.
123
898
1,725
4,182
3,646
2,154
962
505
356
146
124
55
14,876
Deaths.
77
416
1,270
3,150
3,144
1,739
805
406
264
119
102
45
11,762
Third Epidemic (July 1898— June 1899).—The subsidence of the second epidemic prac-
tically coincided with the commencement of the third. Several places in different Tálukas
were attacked in June and became worse in the succeeding months. But no considerable
252
[CHAP. VIII.
town was infected until September 1898, in which month Limb and Khánápur were attacked
one after another. Khánápur, with a population of just over 5,000, escaped lightly with
73 cases and 58 deaths. But Limb was not so fortunate : with a smaller population
(4,593) it contributed no fewer than 546 cases with 437 deaths in a period of 6 months. It
took nearly 2 months to get this town evacuated; but evacuation does not appear to have
been as successful here as at other places.
Towards the close of September 1898 the Town of Uran and Islampur was infected by
Uran and Islarnpur.
Population—10,657.
Peth, a considerable town in the same Táluka with a population of
some 6,500.
Blocks of houses were evacuated as infection appeared, until the entire Uran division of
the town lay empty. Even then cases occurred amongst the people in the fields, the deaths
averaging 3 or 4 daily up to the middle of December. The first case in the Islampur divi-
sion of the town occurred on the 10th November 1898, the pestilence having apparently
crept steadily forward from Uran. This division of the town was also ultimately evacuated :
but the disease lingered in this locality for a long time, the monthly figures being as
follows :—
Month.
September 1898
October
,,
November „
December „
January 1899
February
,,
March
„
...
...
...
...
...
...
To
...
...
Total..
Cases.
2
74
137
105
29
16
5
368
Deaths.
1
52
118
101
23
15
3
313
Karád and Ashta excepted—and they were soon to follow—every town of importance
had suffered more or less severely in the third epidemic, while Sátára still remained free.
SátáraTown.
Population—29,601.
The most strenuous efforts to ward off a second epidemic were put
forth : all arrivals were placed under surveillance : Major T. E. Mont-
gomery, I. 0. S., who in October 1898 gave place to Lieutenant-
Colonel H. Hay, I. S. C., was placed in charge of precautionary measures : when villages in
the Sátára Táluka became infected, no one was permitted to enter the town without a pass,
and all comers from infected places were rigorously excluded : fruit and vegetable markets
being held outside the town.
But in spite of all precautions plague eventually effected an entrance, first attacking a
small village within the limits of the Sátára Suburban Municipality. Although the village
was promptly evacuated, infection was communicated to the town and resulted in an out-
break. It is noteworthy that those parts which had escaped formerly were chiefly the
ones to suffer now. The rise and progress of this epidemic is thus described by Lieutenant-
Colonel Hay :—
"The epidemic in Sátára City began on the 7th October 1898. The first serious out-
break occurred in a Peth called Pantachagote; seven cases occurred there in the week ending
3rd November 1898. Eight more cases occurred there in the same Peth in the following week,
after which the whole Peth was evacuated, after which plague ceased there. After plague
had made its appearance in Pantachagote it similarly began in two more Peths called Raviwár
and Malhár. These two Peths are in the vicinity of Pantacagote, and the infection was, no