6
[CHAP. I, ΡT. Ι.
gradually rose and a mild epidemic, which lasted till May 1899, now took place, The Broach.
District was slightly affected by two epidemics during this third period.
The total numbers of cases and deaths recorded throughout the Presidency during this
Third Period were—
3rd June 1898 to 2nd June 1899.
Cases, 147,748—Deaths, 115,084.
Since the 2nd June 1899 plague has continued and increased, especially in the Poor a,
Nasik, Belgaum, Satara and Ahinednagar Districts. Dharwar also suffered from a severe
recrudescence.
Poona City, which was the cause of great anxiety in the beginning of the year, managed
to keep its plague figures down till about the middle of June, when the number of cases and
deaths rose with terrible rapidity. This epidemic was exceedingly severe, as, out of u
total population of 161,696,—of whom more than half fled—there continued to occur for
a month and a half over 1,000 cases weekly ; or a case-incidence of about 334 per mille per
annum for the whole period. For weeks there were about 1,000 plague patients a day in the
General Plague Hospital, the nurses and doctors being excessively hard worked.
During this epidemic a large number of Europeans in Poona were attacked, there being
80 cases—5 deaths from the 2nd June up to November.
In the epidemics in the Nasik, Belgaum., Satara, Ahmednagar, and Dharwar Districts,
the places principally affected were Nasik Town, Belgaum Town, Karad, Nagar Town, and
Hubli respectively. Towards the latter half of October 1899 plague showed a tendency to
decline generally throughout the Presidency.
From the 2nd June 1899 to the 29th September 1899 the numbers recorded have been ·—
Cases, 60,046—Deaths, 45,637.
The total numbers for the entire three years of plague from :—
23rd September 1890 to 29th September 1899
being
Cases, 319,040—Deaths, 250,677.
Maps Nos. IV and IV (a) show the incidence of plague for the whole period from Septem-
ber 1896 to September 1899 : the former including the large Towns ; the latter excluding
them.
It will be easily seen, that, so far, with the exception of Dharwar, and perhaps also of
Belgaum and Satara, the Districts as a whole have not suffered severely : that the incidence of
plague has been mainly confined to the large Towns of the Presidency. In this connection
several facts are noteworthy. The plague history of the last three years in this Presidency
shows that the infection of a large Town is a source of greater danger to the neighbourhood
and a greater factor in the dissemination of plague than the infection of many villages.
Thus in Ratnagiri, although several small places were attacked, plague was never bad ;
so also in Kaira, Kanara and Khandesh. But in Dharwar District, Hubli Gadag and
Dharwar spread the infection broadcast : in Satara District, Karad, Tasgaon, and Kaledhon did
the same : whilst in Gutch State, Mandvi ; in Kolhapur and S. M. C., Sangli Miraj and
Shahapur ; in Belgaum District, Belgaum and Bail Hongal ; and in Thana District, Bhiwndi
and Bassein acted as the foci for the radiation of dissemination.
The following statement shows the duration of epidemics in, and the plague figures for,
the places which suffered most severely during the Third Period :—