The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-28
lSts, Mice. Snakes. Beetles.
Bags, Flies. Dogs and Jack
us May BECOME In
feeted s. Precautions
Against the Disease.
Chicago

= i
: ~ the HIGHT Of experience In other parts
Of the world, and with even cursoIy
study OF the sanitary conditions OBJ
tanning In the places infected with
J nlague. 1t seems reasonable to believe
that even were the disease introduced
NJ spread would be very limited IN cities
where the sanitary conditions are good
and where precautions As to the fsoiauon
AZ patients and the segregation OF tnose
exposed to infection could and would be
nractfced. with the rigid application OF the
ordinary principles of sanitary science ana
with The means now at our disposal for the
nrophylaxs and cure Of the maiady It
seems extremely doubtful II the plague VIII
ever secure d decided foothold In the Unit
ed States. 90.
In the latter part OF December, 1888,
plague made its appearance IN Honolulu
Hawaiian islands. where It had been prev
iously introduced. but had been suppressed
without extensive spread. Being connned
~ This time to the Chinese quarter OF the
city and vigorous repressive measures hav-
ing been instituted. 1t is to be hoped that
4 general spread will be averted and this
new source Of danger to the United States
removed
suggested Cause OF Prevalence.
An interesting suggestion as to the cause
81 the prevalence Of this disease in India
and china is offered by DIR. Charles W.
Dabney, IT.. formerly assistant secretary
Of agriculture, to the effect that II may Dc
because the people Of India are so badiy
fed. and fed only on rice and other grains
which contain very little protein. As COM
pared with wheat, oats, Indian corn and
rye rice, by the protein standard. - the
poorest food of them all. Additional cred
ence may be given to this theory from the
a mi "a Ne
inc. Other conditions are known to favor
it, such as overcrowding and filth. but IN
cities and localities where these two ele-
ments are present. while the disease mas
ragged violently 1t has been made In time 70
disappear. While In India, where these con-
ditions prevail, with faulty nutrition add
ed, the disease is persistent.
How the Disease IL Contracted.
The methods by which the bacilli enter
the human body are three in number-by
inoculation through an external wound or
abrasion by respiration, and by introduce
tion into the stomach. The Japanese In
,yestigator Aoyama, contracted the disease
by incubation incurred during postmor-
tenn and one of his assistants died OF the
disease contracted In the same manner.
According to Lowson. skin-to-sk'n iniec-
ton is impossible, unless the one to be
infected has some wound. and the infec-
tors skin has been soiled by feces blood
or the contents of buboes. The individual
NAV contract the disease by inhalins the
duet from infected houses which contain
the germ; furthermore, by imbibing in
fected fluids or eating infected food.
It may be contracted, therefore, through
one or more OF the above mentioned chan
nels, by prolonged and intimate contact
with the plague-stricken, as in the case
~ a nurse carrying child Ill with the
disease also by the handling of fomites-
clothing, bedding and other infested ma
teriaIs-and by eating with soiled or un-
washed hands Infection from bodies found
in the street. in houses or awaiting burial
NAV take place IL the clothes have been
soiled by discharges
According to Lowsor, the poison Is not
given off in the ordinary respiration OF a
patieut suffering with the disease; and
snut,,m and saliva from an infected person
have given negative results In the only
case OF which Lowson was able to make
investigation upon this point.
How II spreads I'm Houses.
The conditions favoring plague are SINH
lar to those favoring typhus FEVER, name
Nv. crowd poisoning, bad ventilation and
drainage. impure water supply, famine or
imperfect nourishment and inattention to
sanitary requirements. 1t is probable OF
this disease, as of yellow fever, that hui
man habitations and the ground may be-
come SO thoroughly infected as to estab-
fish endemicity. The bacillus may infect
food and water. though how long 1t will
retain its virility In water is as yet un-
determined. Clothing and other personal
effects, bedding, ETC., may be infected
through the discharges. The bacillus may
be carried in the dust arising through the
cleansing OF dwelling houses which plague
patients have occupied.
A very important element IN the spread
Of plague in houses and localities are rats
and other animals 1t has been found that
rats, mice, snakes, beetles, bugs, flies.
dogs and jackals are infected during an
epidemic. 1t Is significant that the cpl
denies do not attack the purely herbiver-
GUS animals--horses, oxen, sheep, goats
and rabbits. Rats die In large numbers
and generally this phenomenon Is observed
in advance of the appearance of the plague
among human beings. The cause Of their
infection is still o subject of discussion
The soil becomes infected. and a very
common belief in Oriental countries il
that the rat contracts the disease from
miasmatic emanations from the soil, but
this has never been scientifically demon
strated and is probably incorrect. The
fact that mortality among rats precedes
an outbreak of plague among human be-
ings is explained by Lowson by the fact
that rats have their shouts about an inch
above the floors of houses and are more
liable to inspire plague-infected dust than
are human beings.
Prevention of Spread.
Modern science, In its development of
the serum therapy of disease, appears to
have found an efficacious remedy In the
prophylaxis and treatment of this dis
ease. which hitherto has maintained an
average mortality of 90 per cent. A
French physician, Yersin, was the first to
use the serum from an immunlzcd horse
upon cases Of a severe type. At Annoy in
1896 he treated twenty-three cases OF
plauge In this manner, all of whom recov-
cred excepting two, whose cases were des-
perate from the outset and upon whom
treatment was not begun until the fifth
day OF the disease. Additional statistics,
which follow, confirm the efficacy of this
procedure. The method in this treatment
Is similar to that Of the antitoxin of dph-
iberia, tho efficacy Of which Is now thor
oughly established.