The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-05-10
RATS, FLEAS
AND BAC|LL|
The Plague Epidemic
in Sydney,
PRECAUTIONARY METHODS
One Hundred and Forty-Four Cases
Reported Up to the Depart
ure Of Aorangi.

nj I i't'N pNNLA IL IA-Cy up ~ LIO
time of the departure of the Aorangi,
on April 26th, one hundred and forty
four cases of bubonic plague, and fifty
two deaths. On the 26th eight cases of
the disease were reported.
Three and four cases of the black
death day does not seem to be any
thing unusual during the present cpl
demic in Sydney. The remarkable part
of it all is that nearly all the victims
are white persons, only very few out
of the entire number being Chinese.
When the steamer left there were sew
enty cases in the plague hospital.
The methods adopted in Sydney to
fight the plague are for the most part
similar to those recently in vogue in
this city. Rats are recognized as the
most dangerous medium of infection,
and they are being killed by the whole
sale.
DR.. Ashburton Thompson, president
of the Board of Health at Sydney, was
asked recently whether he had any re-
marks to offer upon the situation. He
replied:
No, | have nothing to say. The
cleaning up of the city does not stop the
plague, and there is no country in the
world where mere cleaning up has ever
done so. The chief thing to be done is
to kill all the rats. We may clean up
as much as We like-the rats carry the
disease from one place to another, one
house to another, one district to an
other-and We must kill them"
DR.. Thompson has, in season and out
of season, impressed upon all who CONE
into contact with him the necessity OF
destroying the rodents and striking at
the root of the evil so far as the plague
is concerned
Bacilli have been discovered in the
stomachs of fieas in Sydney. and il is
thought that these insects may be re-
sponsible for the spread of the disease
The death rate is comparatively low
great deal lower than was the casa
in Honolulu.
DR.. Ashburton Thompson pointed out
that when plague attacks person
whether of European or any other race
the power of resisting disease has not
much TO do with his chance of recovery.
or otherwise.
For some weeks nSst the matter of in
oculatlon of persons exposed to possible
contagion has rested in Sydney, be-
cause of the loWnesS of the stock of
prophylactic on hand. News has. how
ever, been received that about 90 600
doses of Haffklne's prOphylactic left
Colombo on the 18th inst, in the R. NJ.
5. Rome. They will, therefore, prob
ably arrive in Sydney very soon. Then.
within a shOst time, a supply of serum.
ferson's curative serum, from France
and Italy, is expected. That from It3ly
has been dispatched from the ba..eri-
illogical laboratory at Messina. AMI
that from France is given by the
French government. 1t comes from the
Pasteur Institute. There is no differ
ence between the two preparations, cx-
cept that they are made in different
laboratories.
Since the outbreak of bubonic plague
IN sydney the authorities in MANY dis
trlctS have inaugurated a systematic
house-to-house inspection, with a view
TO maintaining the health of the COM
munity. In that direction no neces-
sary precautions have been overlooked
and the reports of the local sanitary
inspectors have so far been of a salts
factory character. It was lately de-
cided to issue circular letters to house
holders, seeking their assistance in
keeping all premises scrupuIousIy
clean.
Two-pence is being paid for every
dead rat handed over to the health au-
thoritles in Sydney. This is four cents
IN American money and would not be
considered much of an inducement in
II n
been cremated in Sydney proper, to
date.
The plan adopted by the Water and
beverage Board Of killing sewer rats
by burning sulphur is a simple one
but it is apparently effective. A blow
er, similar in principle to those used
by pastoralists for injecting the fumes
or burning sulphur into rabbit war
rens, is employed, but it is of course
much larger, as the area of the sewer
is immensely greater than that of any
rabbit warren. The number of rats
destroyed by this process cannot be as
certained, because the bodies do not
all reach the same outfall, but many
carcasseS have been found covered with
sulphur, which has condensed from the
vapour, form into the solid state again
on cooling. Moreover, some of the
bodies will be carried into the sea and
will never be found.
The inspectors of the City Council
have practically completed the house
toulouse inspection of the city. No
tees to cleanse or repair have also
been served where the state of the
premises visited required it, and as
soon as the inspection is actually COM
pieted steps will be taken to ascertain
that the notices already served have
been complied with.
Chinese Y. M. c. A.