49
(4) Disinfection of Vehicles.—They should be washed with carbolic lotion or phenyle,
and exposed freely to the sun and air ; cushions especially to be looked to. When the
epidemic is over they should be re-painted.
(5) Disposal of Corpses.—They should be burnt if possible; if buried, the grave
should be deep, and quicklime put in with the body. Any clothing or trappings used for
the corpse should be burnt or buried with it; if not, they should be boiled or freely washed
with carbolic and exposed to the sun and air.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR POLICE OFFICERS, STATION-MASTERS AND OTHER LAYMEN.
(1) In order to recognise the disease, ask the patient these questions : Did you get
ill suddenly ? Have you been ill only a short time ? Did you feel fever coming on with
shivering ? Have you a headache ? Do you feel sick, or have you been vomiting ? A man
who has plague will answer Yes to all these questions.
Then feel his skin, it will be hot; and look at and feel his armpits and groins ; if there
is a painful swelling in one of these places, it is a sign of plague.
Also look at his face; he looks ill and has an anxious expression of face ; sometimes his
eyes are bloodshot.
With regard to the case without buboes, non-medical men will probably not be able
to recognise them ; but if a man looks very ill, and has high fever with cough, he should be
regarded as a doubtful case of plague, until he can be seen by a medical man.
Note.—If a traveller is seen walking lame, his groin should be examined, as he may have a swelling there
caused by plague ; and similarly if he has a stiff arm, his armpit should be examined.
(2) Treatment of plague cases by Lai/men.—No directions can be given, except to
poultice the bubo ; if there is much pain in it, give him. a purge if he is constipated, and
brandy or other form of alcohol.
(3) With regard to disinfection, segregation, disposal of corpses, &c., the directions are
the same for laymen as for medical men."
SECTION 10.
General Remarks.
As indicated in the previous sections the period December and January was
marked in Bombay City by a rapid spread of the disease, a panic which
increased from day to day, and a large exodus of the population : Karachi was
attacked in the middle of December and became seriously infected in January,
in which month also the disease appeared in an epidemic form in the city of
Poo33.a and in the southernmost towns in Salsette Island. It was recognized to
be a matter of the first importance to stop the farther spread of the plague : and
the failure of the limited quarantine rules to protect Karachi, combined with
the failure of a double railway inspection, on departure from Bombay and on
arrival in Poona, to protect the latter city, showed the necessity for a change
of system. The extraordinary measure of stopping pilgrimage from Bombay to
the Hedjaz was therefore taken and arrangements were made not only for compul-
sorily inspecting every person who left Bombay by sea, but also for preventing
the departure of ships without a special certificate from the Health Officer of the
Port. Por the protection of the rest of India an elaborate system of railway
inspection was arranged, and a scheme was prepared for legislation of the most
drastic kind as regards power to interfere with the liberty of the subject. To
rapidly suppress the plague in the cities of Bombay and Karachi, in both of which
the officers in authority had at first considered compulsory segregation entirely
out of the question, was beyond hope : but in the former, in addition to disinfect-
ing and cleansing measures of a thorough description, such arrangements as
were possible in the state of panic which existed and in view of the scarcity of
medical men were made to discover the sick and if possible convey them to hos-
pital, and the possibility of carrying out a scheme, which was being worked with
some success in the much smaller and more favourably situated city of Karachi,
for causing the evacuation of infected houses, chawls and localities, was earnestly
considered. The Secretary of State had offered to send out doctors from England,
but the Government of India had expressed their ability to lend the medical
men required and had promised to send 16 officers in addition to 21 medical
subordinates. The Secretary of State had also offered to supply nurses, but His
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