NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
208
Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ CHAP. VIII.
under the command of a British officer. A segregation party
was present daily in the section of the city where the search divisions
were working. A more laborious part of the duty of the segre-
gators, however, was the segregation of the inmates of houses where
plague cases had occurred which had come to light otherwise than
through the agency of the search parties or where deaths had taken
place which had not been certified by a commissioned medical officer
to be due to some cause other than plague. The segregation officer,
Lieutenant Owen Lewis, of the 14th Bombay Infantry, was furnished
daily with a list of such houses.
" At the commencement of the operations segregation ceased to be
carried out in the morning at the time when the search was going
on in the city. It was found, however, that to avoid segregation,
the inmates of infected houses commonly absented themselves from
home during the ordinary working hours. It was therefore found
necessary in the later stage of the operations to vary the hours of work
for the segregators from day to day. The work of the segregation
officer was by no means easy, and it was often a matter of much
practical difficulty to determine who should and who should not be
segregated. Mistakes were made at times, but I am satisfied that
segregation was on the whole conducted with discretion and tact. "
SEGREGATION CAMPS.
Objects of
segregation.
It is stated in the late Mr. Rand's report that "the object of segre-
gating the apparently healthy inmates of plague-infected buildings
was two-fold. First and principally to prevent those of them in
whom plague was in a state of incubation from developing the disease
in private houses and becoming fresh plague centres ; secondly, to
insure the non-occupation of plague-infected buildings till the buildings
had been thoroughly disinfected. Ten days was fixed as the maxi-
mum period of detention, as that was believed to be the longest term
for which the malady commonly remained in a state of incubation
in a human being."
The four
segregation
camps.
There were four segregation camps, namely,—
The General
The Muhammadan
The Cantonment
The Parsi
Segregation
"
"
"
Camp.
>3
"
"
General
Segregation
Camp,
" The construction of the general segregation camp was commenced
by the Municipality on the 1st of February. Under the administra-
tion of the Plague Committee its size was increased until it contained
CHAP. VIII. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 209
122 rooms. The camp consisted of substantial thatched huts with
mud floors. At the commencement the blocks were constructed to
contain four rooms. Later on, blocks were built of two rooms only,
the object of the change being to diminish both the loss that
would be caused in the event of fire in any block, and the house
space to be disinfected in the event of the occurrence of a case
of plague. The size of the majority of the rooms was 12 feet
by 10 feet. Fifteen cook-rooms of corrugated iron were provided
for the use of the inhabitants of the camp. There were twenty
latrines, twelve for men and eight for women. An abundant water-
supply was obtained from a well furnished with a pump and cistern.
Bathing and washing arrangements were made. The camp was lighted
by standard lamps which stood in rows between the lines of huts. "
Management.
The camp "was in charge of Surgeon-Captain Beveridge who
visited it and inspected all the inmates daily, besides closely supervis-
ing the sanitary arrangements. His principal subordinates were the
superintendent, the native officer in command of the infantry guard
and the hospital assistant. Besides a native infantry guard, a
sufficient staff of clerks, water-carriers, cooks, bhangis, sweepers,
lamp-lighters and coolies was maintained. "
Food supply.
"Though the rules contemplated the grant of allowances for rations
to members of the labouring classes only, as a general rule, it was
found to be a matter of much practical difficulty to determine who
should, and who should not, receive them, and in practice they were
allowed to nearly all the inmates of the camp. There were three
Banias' shops within the encampment, which was visited daily by
milk and vegetable-sellers. Some members of the Hindu community,
with the permission of the Plague Committee-opened an eating, house
in the encampment where such persons as desired it could obtain
food ready cooked on payment. "
Muhammadan
segregation
camp.
"The Muhammadan segregation camp was built and equipped at the
expense of the Muhammadan community, and was under the same
management as the Muhammadan Plague Hospital, from which it was
only a short distance away. It consisted of rows of chappar* huts,
which could comfortably accommodate 100 persons. Sufficient latrines
and cook-rooms were provided. The camp was under the super-
vision first of Surgeon-Captain Beveridge and then of Surgeon-
Lieutenant Kiddle. "
Cantonment
segregation
camp.
" The cantonment segregation camp consisted of three rows of
8o-lb. tents, eight tents in each row, and could comfortably accommo-
date from 100 to 200 persons. Behind these were situated bath-rooms,
store-houses, etc., built of corrugated iron. Latrines of corrugated iron
were also provided. As at the other camps, the native infantry guard
*Thatched.
27
2IO Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
was accommodated in tents. Water was brought to within 2oo yards
of the camp by means of pipes and was conveyed into the camp
by bhistis.* The supply was of a sound, potable character and
was ample in quantity. All the inmates of the camp were supplied
with rations. On arrival in camp each person had a good
bath, and was provided with fresh clothes and bedding. All clothes
and similar articles brought to the camp were thoroughly disinfected
by dipping for 30 minutes in carbolic solution or corrosive
sublimate solution, and placed in the sun to dry for five or six hours.
The inmates of the camp were regularly inspected by the medical
officer. New admissions were kept separate from the other inhabi-
tants of the camp for the first three days of their detention. When
a case of plague occurred, the tent which the patient had in-
habited was struck and placed in the sun for three days. The
ground was well soaked with carbolic solution and chloride of lime in
solution was sprinkled about, The latrines were kept under close
supervision and were attended to twice daily, the evacuations being
disinfected before removal. Surgeon-Captain Thacker reports that
the inmates of the camp declared themselves much pleased with
the treatment they received and expresses an opinion that they
improved in health and general appearance during their sojourn there.
The camp was under the management of Surgeon-Captain Thacker
and was well administered in every particular. "
Parsi segregation
camp.
" The Parsi segregation camp, which was situated alongside the
camp last described, consisted of four large tents capable of accommo-
dating from 40 to 50 people. It was provided with bath-rooms, a cook-
house, a store-house and latrines. All were thoroughly suitable for
their respective purposes. The camp was under the same management
as the Parsi Plague Hospital, which was situated on the opposite side of
the road and was under the supervision of Surgeon-Captain Thacker."
Persons
segregated and
plague cases
amongst
them.
The following statement shows the total number of inmates of
the different camps and the number of cases of plague which occurred
amongst them :—
Name of camp.
General
...
...
,..
Muhammadan
...
...
Cantonment
...
.,
Parsi
TOTAL
Total number of inmates.
†3,082
659
302
20
4,063
Number of plague cases.
45
6
2
Nil
53
* Water-carriers.
† This does not include inmates discharged before the 13th March.
CHAP. VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 211
Small percentage
of plague cases
among the
segregated.
The percentage of plague cases amongst the inhabitants of the
camps was thus only 1 3. Remembering that all the inmates had been
subject to the immediate risk of infection, the smallness of this percen-
tage shows the great direct saving of life which results from the re-
moval of the persons endangered from their insanitary and infected sur-
roundings.
Disinfecting and
limewashing
parties.
CLEANSING AND DISINFECTION OF INFECTED HOUSES.
This important portion of the work was performed by military
parties and by the municipal authorities co-ordinately.
Under the military organization there were two separate sets of
operations, performed by the " fumigation parties " and the " lime-
washing parties." The " fumigation parties " would be more correctly
described as "disinfecting parties." When the operations were at
their height there were three disinfecting divisions, each consisting
of a number of military parties.
Preliminary
arrangements.
" Before the operations of the military commenced, a list was pre-
pared of all the houses in the city in which plague cases or deaths
from any cause had occurred since March 1st and which had not
already been disinfected. All houses on this list had to be dealt with
by the fumigators, thereafter they were supplied daily with a list of
houses from which fresh plague cases or deaths from any cause had
been reported to the Municipal authorities. In addition to the
houses entered in these lists all houses in which cases or plague
corpses were found during the morning's search had to be disinfected.
List of houses to
be disinfected.
" The preparation of correct lists of houses for fumigation was
found to be a matter of considerable practical difficulty. Persons who
reported deaths at the Municipal office constantly gave the address of
the deceased incorrectly, thereby exposing an uninfected house to
disinfection and its inmates to the inconveniences of segregation.
To get over this difficulty, the Municipal Conservancy Inspectors
were entrusted with the duty of verifying the addresses at which
plague attacks and deaths had occurred. The work was indifferently
performed by them and was accordingly made over to the assistant
masters from the Poona High School, whose services were lent by
the Director of Public Instruction. It was finally transferred to non-
commissioned officers of the native infantry.
Method of
procedure.
" During the greater portion of the operations the fumigation divisions
worked daily over the same local area as the search divisions. One
or more fumigation parties accompanied each search division for the
purpose of disinfecting any houses where cases might be found in the
morning's search. The retraining parties of the fumigation divisions
were employed on the disinfection of houses entered on the fumigation
lists, and situated within the section of the city to be searched on the
212 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
particular day. At the close of the operation, when the number of
houses for disinfection was small, this arrangement was not strictly
adhered to, and the fumigation parties were employed in whatever
part of the city there was work for them to do."
Two alternative processes of disinfection were prescribed in the
rules—(a) fumigation, and (b) flushing with a solution of corrosive
sublimate. In practice the second process was found to be the best
and was generally adopted. In all 1,018 houses were disinfected.
Cleansing and
limewashing
parties.
After the disinfection of the houses came the limewashinor and
cleansing operations and the destruction of rubbish. This work was
performed by separate "limewashing parties." During the height
of the epidemic there were three limewashing divisions, each
consisting of thirteen parties.
Method of
procedure.
" The limewashing divisions usually worked in the portion of the
town in which the search and fumigation divisions had worked on the
previous' day. Officers commanding limewashing divisions were
furnished daily with lists of houses for limewashing. All houses
which had been disinfected, either by the military fumigation divisions
or by the Municipal staff, were included in these lists. Houses, which
though not infected were found to be in a filthy state, were also
included.
" It was found at the beginning of the operations that rather too
many articles were at times destroyed as rubbish. Orders were
accordingly issued on March 26th to officers commanding lime-
washing divisions to visit, if possible, all houses to be lime washed and
to decide what should be destroyed in each. Where a house was
limewashed, any property of value which it contained was usually
handed over to the neighbours for safe custody. When this could
nob be arranged, which seldom happened, all valuables were sent to
the Plague Committee's warehouse, where they were kept till claimed
by the owners. "
Work done by
the Municipality.
From March 15th to May 19th, 3,068 houses were limewashed.
Co-ordinately with the work of the military parties European
inspectors were employed by the Municipality under Surgeon-Captain
Lloyd Jones to superintend the disinfection of houses where cases of
plague were discovered by the Municipal establishments, and the open-
ing up of houses which were badly ventilated or lighted.
PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION.
In a letter dated the 14th May, the late Mr. Rand gave the following
description of the arrangements made for the destruction of property
CHAP. VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 213
and the payment of compensation. These arrangements were carefully
designed to prevent poor people from suffering a loss which they could
ill afford and the fear of which would have been an additional induce-
ment to conceal cases of plague :—
Careful
arrangements to
prevent poor
people from
suffering loss.
" Search parties are forbidden by the orders of the Plague Com-
mittee to destroy any property except the mats or bedding of plague
patients. The mats or bedding are in practice destroyed in the pre-
sence of the medical officer who accompanies the search division.
The medical officers are supplied with cash advances for the purpose
of enabling them to pay compensation on the spot for articles des-
troyed. Fumigation parties are forbidden to destroy any property
whatever. Limewashing parties are instructed to burn all rubbish
found in the houses which they limewash, but are forbidden to destroy
property of any value to the inmates except under the orders of a
medical officer. In order to guard against any undue destruction of
property as rubbish, officers commanding limewashing divisions have
been ordered to visit, as far as possible, all houses which are lime-
washed and decide what should be destroyed, and when property of
any value to the owners is destroyed, to note the approximate cost
of replacing what has been destroyed, in order that compensation
may afterwards be paid. In practice nothing is destroyed except in
the presence of a medical or military officer, and when property of
any value is reported by an officer to have been destroyed, compensation
is paid if the owner is a poor man,
***
"The Committee have done their utmost to impress on everybody
connected with the operations that property of any value to the
owners is not to be destroyed unless a medical officer declares it to
be necessary to do so, and they believe that except perhaps during
the first few days of the operations, when the men did not perfectly
understand what they had to do, very little of substantial market value
except infected bedding has been burnt. They are of opinion, how-
ever, that a good many articles, such as apparently worn-out clothes,
old rags, and pieces of sacking, which, though of little or no market
value are of some use to the owners, are destroyed as rubbish without
compensation being paid for them. The destruction of articles of
this class, as well as the breaking up of certain floors, which is part
of the process of disinfection practised at Poona is undoubtedly a
hardship to the poorer classes in a year of high prices such as this,
and the Committee therefore propose to pay at the close of the
military operations a small fixed sum as compensation to householders
of the labouring classes at whose houses articles have been burnt
and who have not previously received compensation, "
214 Measures in the Bombay Presídency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
General
improvement of
sewage and
conservancy
arrangements.
GENERAL SANITARY PRECAUTIONS,
The general charge of the conservancy of the city was entrusted
to Surgeon-Major Barry on the 27th of February and remained with
him throughout the operations.
Appointment of
inspectors.
Work done.
The sewage and conservancy arrangements of the city were
found to be very defective, and Dr. Barry immediately set about
their improvement and reform. The first essential was to provide
an efficient supervising establishment. Eighteen British privates with
two non-commissioned officers were appointed conservancy inspectors.
A respectable English-speaking native was attached to each of these
as sub-inspector. During part of the time a British officer was de-
tached for their supervision. A new health officer was appointed, and .
considerable additions were made to all branches of the subordinate
conservancy establishment. Special attention was paid to the systema-
tic flushing and disinfecting of privies and drains. The work of the
conservancy labourers was carefully supervised and the regular removal
of night-soil from privies was enforced. Open spaces and lanes as well
as the main streets were systematically cleared of rubbish. Steps
were taken by the issue of notices under the Municipal Act and
otherwise to cause insanitary privies to be put in a sanitary condition.
The city having been brought into a fair state of cleanliness, the special
subordinate conservancy establishments were ordered to be discharged
from May 16th. Twelve British non-commissioned officers and privates-
with their sub-inspectors were however retained. The late Mr. Rand
was of opinion that the measures taken had the effect of materially
improving the sanitary condition of Poona, and that there was little-
doubt that at the end of the main operations the city was cleaner
than it had ever been within the memory of living man.*
Arrangements-
in the
cantonment and
in suburban
limits.
POONA CANTONMENT AND SUBURBAN MUNICIPALITY.
In the cantonment and the suburban municipality the work was car-
ried out under the control of the Plague Committee and on the same lines
as in the city. It is therefore not necessary to examine the details.
In the cantonment the operations were under the direct administration
of Colonel Newnham Smith, the Cantonment Magistrate, to whom the
Committee delegated certain of their powers. Similarly, in the
suburban municipality the Chairman of the Managing Committee took
immediate charge of the operation under powers delegated to him
by the Committee. Very few cases occurred within the suburban
limits.
* Unfortunately even these thorough precautions did not save Poona from a second
virulent outbreak of plague during the recrudescence.
CHAP. VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind, 215
Report by Dr.
Collins.
Kolaba District,
Surgeon-Captain Collins, who was deputed by the Bombay Plague
Committee on the 10th of May to take charge of the operations in
Kolaba district, has given a brief and interesting account, which is
reproduced at length below, to serve as an instance of work in district
towns and villages :—
General
arrangements.
" With a view to coping with the epidemic, plague hospitals
were opened at Panwel, Mora, Uran, Karanja, Pen, Alibag, and
Revdanda, and each placed in charge of a hospital assistant. The
provisions of Act III of 1897 were put into force ; plague authorities
were appointed ; arrangements were made for house-to-house inspec-
tion ; segregation camps were established ; and orders were issued to
have the towns and villages disinfected and put into as sanitary a
condition as possible. The Inspector-General of Police sanctioned
the enlistment of 110 extra police for the district, and these were
posted for duty to the different towns, with a view to establishing a
thorough inspection of houses for information of fresh attacks. All
infected houses were vacated on the occurrence of cases of plague ;
the houses were then disinfected, limewashed, and the tiles or thatches
removed to allow of free entrance of air and sunshine ; the
streets and gutters were also flushed and sprinkled with carbolic
powder. On the 3rd March Professor Haffkine, at the invitation of
Mr. E. W. Carrol, went to Uran and inoculated 110 persons with his
prophylactic serum ; and again, on I3th March, he inoculated and
re-inoculated in all 192 persons, including 34 Kolis, 73 Parsis and 5
Europeans."
Visit of Bombay
Plague
Committee.
Limewashing
and disinfection
of all towns in
the district.
"The Bombay Plague Committee visited the district at the end of
April. They first came to Alibag, where they found that out of a
population of 7,000 inhabitants, only some 400 had remained in the
town, the remainder having fled panic-stricken into the surrounding-
villages; a few days later Revdanda, Theronda, and Choul were
visited, also Panwel, Mora, Uran and Karanja. As the result of
these visits it was decided that all the towns in the district should
be thoroughly limewashed and disinfected on scientific principles
with a view to putting them in a sound sanitary condition, and the
following disinfecting staffs were despatched to the different places :
To Theronda and Revdanda, Inspector Brady and 100 coolies ; to
Alibag, Inspector Stazza and 150 coolies ; to Karanja, Inspector De Sa
and 50 coolies; to Uran, Inspector Jan Saheb and 25 coolies; and
to Panwel, Inspector Jenner and 50 coolies. The whole of the opera-
tions were placed under the superintendence of Mr. T. G. B.
Atkinson.* The disinfection was begun early in May, and completed
* One of the Chief Inspectors of the Bombay Municipality, who had acquired great
experience in disinfecting
"work.