The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-07-12

An English surgeon recently writing
of the plague says that though there is
no specific known, and though an at
tack means in the majority of cases
certain death, there is a preventive,
which he describes as follows;
1T is now established beyond all rea-
sonabe doubt that Professor Haffl<in
preventive serum does possess a real
protective effect, and that even where
inoculated persons have become strick-
en- by plague the disease usually runs
a much milder course the fever is not
SO severe, and the delirium and other
cerebral symptoms much less i'm de-
gree.
"A striking proof of the efficacy of
/ this incubation is afforded by the sta
| tistcs of the Byculla House of CorreC-
| ton or the inmates in this prison dur
| ing the epidemic l4S were inoCulated.
! two only We're attacked-both of them
recovered; l73 preferred to remain un-
, inoculated, of these twelve were at
tackled and six died.
For the Damann district 2l9I were
inoculated and thirty-siX died 6O33 de-
clined incubation and 1882 died.
The method of preparing the pre-
ventive serum is very simple Plague
bacilli are sown in a quantity of neu-
trail mutton broth mixed With a little
cocoanut oil or ghee and the bacilli are
cultivated therein at a favorable tenn
perature. When the growth is at its
height the culture is heated and car
boized. 1t is then allowed to cool and
remain undisturbed for some hours.
During this last process a sediment
falls to the bottom-th2 remains of the
plague bacilli-leavng a clear fluid.
This latter is carefully removed and is
the fluid for the prophylactic inocula-
ton. The dose for healthy male adult
is 2.5 cubic centimetres of a standard
solution and this dose is repeated at the
end of ten or fourteen days The SyS-
tematic disturbance produced by the
incubation is marked but not grave.
The body temperature rises to 102 de-
grees Fahrenheit, but subsidies at the
end of twenty-four hours. Pain is felt
at the site of incubation for about five
days, and then disappears. No bad eff
feCts have up to the present been no.
ticed from the incubation
Regarding the treatment used in the
plague camp, to which the doctor was
attached, it is thus described:
The treatment of the plague patients
was on the whole very simple, and re
solved itself principally into alleviatint
the pain, combating the fever, ant
maintaining the patients strength al
far as possible, paying particular atten
ton to the condition of the heart ant
aiding it's action where necessary b!
the use of stimuants, hypodermic in
jeCtiOnS of StryChnine, etc; for expert
ence soon taught one that in the sim
plest form of plague, where the buboe
were either femOral or aXillary dealt
was usually the result of sudden cardia
failure. Not much was done i'm the wa
of local treatment beyond painting
painful buboeS with glycerine or bella
donna and incising those in which sup
puration had occurred. In some of tn
first cases the treatment was adopte
of injecting the buboes at an early stag
with carbolic acid and iodine, but as II
definitely good results were noted fror
this it was soon abandoned. Inocula
ton with prophyactic serum was no
resorted to, and would, indeed, hav
been, for all practical purposes, useless
as only such patients came into on
hands as We're already stricken with tn
plague"
D With regard to the dispose! of the deat
II he states that lin cases which prove
a fatal the corpse was removed to sma
hut which served as mOrtuary, StriT
ped of its clothes and washed with
strong solution of carbOlic Its ultimat
disposal differed according as to whei
her the subject was Hindoo or Mahom
a medan. In the former instance it wa
burned; in the latter buried i'm a laye
of quicklime not less than nine feet be
low the surface Of the ground. In bot
cases all the patients clothes was de
stroyed by fire, and his relatives, if an!
'e We're not allowed To take his effect!
l. such as jewelry or cooking utensils, vi
til they had been disinfeCted by bOilin
in strong antisCeptic solution. The re
atiVeS or friends who had remained
attendance were not permitted to leav
T the camp after their period of quarar
| tine until they had had a carbol
| bath, and all their clothes We're dish
fected, and they were further submit
ted to a rigorous examination befor
they proceeded on their journey, the
name, caste and destination being res
istered for future reference if requh
ed"
But i'm spite of prophylactic trea
ment plague camps and general vigi
ance, the plague spreads and threaten
other countries, till Europe tremblc
and even the dwellers i'm the isles of Il
. sea have to look carefully to their ny
. genic bolts and bars, and San Fran
Y cisco has become watchful