The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-08-09
The BLACK DEATH IN CHINA.
Fears That 1t VIII sweep Over Eastern
:eia Before 1t Disappears.

Fears That 1t VIII sweep Over Eastern
..-ia Before 1t Disappears,
'Blacll DEATH, that mysterious dis
ease which has been creating such havoc
among the natives ct Canton, seems
destined to sweep over eastern Asia.
Hong Kong has been attacked by this
insidious and fatal enemy, and already
hundreds have succurnbed to it. The
colony Is almost shut off from communi-
ration, save by telegraph, with other
Asiatic ports, and every effort is being
made to check the spread Of the plague.
Strict quarantine regulations have been
made, and outgoing steamers on oriental
lines carry neither freight nor passen-
gers.
But the germs of the disease seem to
be in the air, for latest news Is that
deaths by the plague have already &C.
CURED in Japan. The natives are panic
stricken.
The plague made its appearance III
Hong Kong about May 10, when many
dead rats were found in the streets.
This is the first sign the disease makes.
Usually other animals arestricken before
human beings are affected. The spread
of the disease was most rapid. In q few
DAYS the victims claimed numbered
nearly 80 daily. 1t was even more fatal
there than in Canton, fully so per cent
Of those seized dying III about IS hours
One cause that led to this result was
that there had been no rainfall for a
long period, and all streams and sources
of drainage were foul. Vigorous steps
We're taken to secure artificial flushing
Of all drains, and thorough cleansing
Of the entire city was had, but there
was no decrease until about the goth,
when several heavy rain storms oc
Cured.
Health officers made q house to house
canvass of the district Of the city where
the disease seemed to center, and all
sick persons We're removed 20 the Hygeia,
the hospital ship in the harbor. The
dead were taken in charge by the same
officials and buried at once in a place
especially selected.
When the disease was at It's worst,
the deaths in the hospitals numbered
about 80 daily. In some cases whole
families were eXterminated in n few
days. Europeans seem to be almost
proof against the disease, although in
sonic cases JlSlT SJETOuHCIISS were the
same as those of the Chinese. An excep-
ton to this is the death Of several Por-
tuguese in Hong-Kong.
The cause of the strange malady is a
mystery, but it is undoubtedly filth
disease. 4 physician who had large eX-
perience with the black plague in PAX
hoi some years ago said in an interview
that it was due to foul smells. The
plaques symptoms, as described already,
are as follows: With or without pre-
monitory warning in the shape of chill
there is a sudden fever rising to 105 de-
grees or over. There is much headache
and cerebral disturbance, accompanied
by stupor. In from IL to 2 hours CLAN
dular swelling occurs in the neck, arm
pit or groin, rapidly charging to the
size of a fowls egg. 1t is hard and eX-
ceedingly tender. With or without a
decline of the fever the patient sinks
deeper into Il condition Of coma and
dies usually at the end of IS hours or
sooner. He declared that animals were
affected first, because the germs We're
near the ground.
Native reports from Canton say that
the epidemic Is somewhat decreasing
there, but many new cases are still re-
ported. 1t is said that fish are also
stricken, and fishermen in some dis
tricts have been forced to cease opera |
tions. San Francisco Chronicle.