The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-08
THE ORIGIN OF PLAGUE.


DR.. Proust, who is well know as hav-
ing been one of the French delegates at
various internationa sanitary confer
ences, has just read to the Academy or
Medicine an interesting paper concern
| ing the means Of defending Europe
against contamination by the plague
The learned doctor, who is rather Sc
we're in his remarks concerning the dis
regard Of international regulations by
the English, commenced by drawing
attention to what he called the present
| geographical distribution of the plague
in Asia and Africa, and to the dangers
which the spread of that disease might
entail for Europe" He pointed out that
the various international sanitary con-
ferences, and particularly that held at
Venice in 1897, elaborated regulations
which, If observed, would ward off from
Europe the danger of contamination.
The protection thus provided was based
on the establishment of several lines of
defence between the contaminated
points lin the present instance, India)
and Europe. The preventive measures
consist, in the first place, of rigorous
precautions taken at the point of
departure, viz, the prohibition
of the starting Of any contaminated
person or suspicious cases, and the dis
infection Of everything capable of
transmitting the germs of the disease.
That is the first line of defence. After
this it was deemed necessary to raise
other barriers to the passage Of the in
fictitious germs on their way to Europe,
India being the hotbed of the plague.
DR.. Proust declared that it was nee
essary to raise second line Of de-
fence in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea,
with the object of stopping germs
which might have escaped the precaut-
ionary measures taken at the point OF
departure. The third line of defence
consists in the sanitary measures talk
en- in European ports themselves. Those
measures are, in DR.. Prousts opinion,
rational and just, and If the reSula-
tons prescribed by the Venice confer
ence We're properly executed, Europe
might be regarded as safe from an in
vasion of that terrible scourge. He re-
GREETED, however, to be obliged to say
that some of the measures which were
recommended two years ago had not
yet been put into execution, while 9TH
ers were applied in an incomplete man
ner. Examining the question as to what
should be done for the protection of
Europe, DR., PrQust described the pres
ent position Of the plague in Asia, Afri-
ca, and Europe. He said that Bombay
was still the chief center of the dis
ease and that indeed slight increase
of mortality from 1T had recently oc-
Cured there. The sanitary situation in
the south of India had become more
unsatisfactory. In spite of this, how
ever, the departure of pilgrims for Mec-
ca had not been completely prohibited,
as it was in 1897, owing to the pressure
brought to bear on the British authori-
ties by the Venice conference. The pro-
hibtion to undertake the pilgrimage to
Mecca was now only extended to per-
sons having resided temporarily or
permanently in the presidencies OF
Bombay or Madras, or in the states Of
Mysore, Hyderabad and Coorg.
Dr. Proust urged that nothing but
complete Introduction could be effica-
cious The epidemics Of plague which
broke out formerly in Europe had ac-
cording to Robert Koch and other doc
tors who had studied the invasion,
come from places situated in Persia
and Mesopotamia. The epidemics of
plague which occur in China and India
had their origin in a hot-bed OF the
disease existing to the west of the
Province of Yunnan, on the frontier or
Thibet. A third fot-bed of the disease
exists to the south of Mecca, in the
mountainous country of Aassir. Ac-
cording to Koch, fourth hot-bed of
the plague exists in the interior of
Africa, in Kisiba, situated at the ex-
treme northwest of the German East
African colony, and in the Buddu prov
ince of Uganda. This knowledge of the
existence of this last named home of
the disease is of all the greater i'm
portance as danger from 1t will be all
the more considerable after the con-
struction of the railway from Mombas-
sa to the eastern coast Of Africa. Dr.
Proust pointed out that it had been first !
stated that the plague had been !
brought to Tamatave by one of the
Arab dhows engaged in the coasting |
trade in the Indian ocean; but an in
curry had now established that 1t was !
imported by a vessel laden with rice |
from Bombay He declares that the |
epidemic at Tamatave seemed to be |
now effectually confined to that dis |
trict. Only one European had been at |
tackled by it, The number of deaths had |
amounted to ninety-tWo, of which t1f-
ty-two We're natives of Madagascar,
fourteen Creoles, and twenty-six Ash
a tics Sneakine of the cases which OC-