Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-02-12
THE BUB0NIC PLAGUE.
Some New Facts About An Old Disease
1t Carried Of Millions In the SIKH
Century. Last Visit to Europe
i'm 1879

in 1879.
1t is no new disease that is now raw.
aging India and there Is good reason
iOr western nations to take measures
against its spread although there is lit
tle liklihood that with modern sanitary
6nowledge it will do the damage that
Il has done in times past. 1t is 1t
disease which is bred by filth aud ha>
always started in the densely populated
are reiigiously violated. The tirst
symptom of the disease is a depressed
reelng followed by a high fever which g,
IN turn is followed by IA number of boil'
m the region of the glands. Death
Usually fDllOws n snort time. DR.
Victor G.. Vaughan, of the medica,
FACULTY OF the university. in lecture
delivered lately told many new facts con =
corning the dread disease. Among Other
,nings the doctor said that the plague
vas no new disease. 1t has he'd
dominion in Asia FOR over thousand
years and was especially prevalent III
he fourteenth and seventeenth centur.
res.
From a book found in the vatican
his same disease is shown to have eX-
n.. If X
=. The epidemic of the sixth century
was perhaps the most terrible in al
history. The doctor considers that, ~
4 conservative estimate, the mum
ler of deaths at that period, di.
cctly traced TO the disease, reached
ne enormous number of % 600 900.
fine last appearance Of the disease n
Europe was in 1879. but it l. continu-
lily present in Asia.
Ia 1894 the plague appeared in China
nd at that time invest gators sem
here 10y Japan and France found and
,olatcd the germ that, it has been
proved, produced the disease. 1t is IL
,acilu, with rounded ends and can be-
readily aud easily grown IN artificial
cultures. Innoculated into animals il
produces death in from three to five
lays.
\ peculiar circumstance is the be-
;,f -t,.,Dt
rhcy are highly susceptible and then
,ctious often warn tenants that their
houses are injected The little ANIMALS
.un out into the rooms on even into the
.treets aud die In this manner they
themselves become powerful means OF
,preadiug the contagion. In parts OF
Asia the disease Is even called the rat
plague, owing to the actions of the
diseased rodents. With them the
.ymptums seem To be identical with
hose IN man.
The doctor said that there is no known
racial immunity to the disease; il i
like fatal to Mongolians. Africans and
Europeans 1t prevails in wet or dry
seasons, aud is especially prevalent IN
Ienscly populated communities. There
:, however. but little danger of the
disease getting into this country.
Cleanliness and good food are the best
safeguards.
IN Hong Kong ID Eu opean physl-
clanS and many Chinese medical stu
Tents were constantly caring for the
sufferers. but not one of them contract
ed the disease. 1T is the added troub e
Of the famine in India that makes the
mortality there so great. where in many
epidemics he death rate has reached
80 per cent.
As far as treatment Is concerned
the doctor stated that to his knowledge
there is no efficient treatment for the
disease. Protection lies only in keep
ing the body clean and the entire sys-
tenn in strong, resistant state of gen.
eral health.