The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-09-24

states Commissioner 10 India for the
investigation of cholera in 1881 1856, a
col abOrateT OF Professor koch, writes
tHence the necessity of temporarily
restricting the liberty of all inmates
Of the infected dwelling and OF all
persons in close COMMUNICATION with
it,whether at the time OF the infection
they are suffering or not. All such
persons should be isolated and kept
Under strict surveillance until the ex-
IRENE limit of the period of incuba-
ton (say, five days. has fully elapsed,
counting from the commencement OF
the period of surveillance. III during
these five days no sign OF even
slight or walking attack has made its
appearance, and finally IL a test OF the
feces has indicated the comma bacllll
Of Koch, the individual temporarily
restrained Of his liberty, both for his
own, benefit and for that of the public,
NAV be without danger restored again
20 the full enjoyment thereof"
The United States quarantine regu-
lations issued in April, 1894, contain
the following:
Article Xi. Section l.. "The de-
tentfon OF vessels for cholera, yellow
fever, smallpox and typhus fever
shall cover the period OF Incubation OF
the disease, the time OF detention 10
commence from the date OF last ex-
posure. Yellow fever, not less than
five days. typhus fever, not less tha all
twenty days; smallpox, except In
cases OF successful vaccination, not less
than fourteen days; cholera, not less
than five days"
Article ". Detention of passengers
on account of cholera. Section 3. "In
any group in which cholera appears
the sick will be Immediately iso-
lated in the hospital and the remain
ing persons in the group shall again
undergo disinfection and be detained
not less than five days thereafter"
Section 4. "After five days from the
last exposure to infection, any group
among which no choleraic disease has
developed may be released from quar-
antine after a final disinfection Of
clOthing."
II will be seen from the foregoing
quotations, which can be multiplied,
that the period of incubation of cnol-
era is never more than five days. 1t
is upon this fact that the Board OF
Health has acted in dealing with non
infected vessels. Cholera has not de-
veIoped on board of any vessel placed
in quarantine under the regulations OF
the Board of Health. Many of them
have now been in quarantine from
seventeen to twenty days, and we at
firm that they were as free from the
disease at the end of the fifth day as
thew now are. 1t does not detract
from this fact that the President of the
United States in September, 1892, at a
time of great public alarm, saw fit to
use his discretionary powers and order
the Secretary of the Treasury to i'm
pose an additional fifteen day quaran-
tine on the cholera infected immigrant
vessels at the port of New York. This
order remained in force onlya short
time and in February and March, 1893,
Congress after due elaboration, record
ed its faith in the five-day quarantine,
by enacting the present laws which
have Just been quoted.
To insure cleanliness and freedom
from the cholera poison, the vessels
now in quarantine at Honolulu, were
subjected to the following treatment:
The hold, forecastle, crews quarters,
cabins and laZarette, were fumigated
with sulphur. The decks, deck-houses,
bulworks, closets and scuppers were
flushed with an acid solution of mer-
curic bichloride, the crew bathed with
a carbolic solution, and donned clean
laundried clothing. The soiled cloth
ing was then fumigated with sulphur.
We realize the fact that IL the dis1n-
lection is imperfectly done, five days
is not sufficient time to insure safety,
neither is twenty days nor sixty days,
for instances are on record where the
poison has lived from one season to
another. The epidemic in parts OF
Europe in 1898, was considered re-
crudescence of the poison of 1892, and
not re infection.
+. r. DAY, NJ. ID.
G.. B. WOOD, Nj. ID.
n. b. EMERSON, NJ. ID.
HopoInlu Sentamher o. 1895