The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-02-02

now eliminating, give special interest
to the following report from the
United States Consul at Bombay for
the text of which the Advertiser is in
debted to II. NJ. whitney:
Bubonic Plague; Haffkine Serum.
The plague in the Bombay presiden-
ley continues. 1t had its inception in
the latter part of the year 1896, and
has spread into every collectorate and
district of the presidency. From state
ments showing the mortality from
plague furnished me by the Govern
ment of India, l find there were, dur
ing the week ending September 3, 1899
1890 deaths from plague in the presi-
dency of Bombay.
Its progress in the southern Mahrat-
Ia country during the past year has
been remarkable. 1t has assumed an
epidemic form in the city of Poona, q
place of over 100000 inhabitants,
which, on account of its supposed SAM
tary COndition-high elevation. dry
heat, with a climate from May to No
vember like an English spring morn
lng-has been made the home for the
Bombay army and the residence of the
lGovernor during the monsoon season.
This city has had 23,331 cases and
17,SO9 deaths from plague up to the
present time. The epidemic is just at
present at its hight, and there Is great
suffering and distress. During the
week ended September 2, 1899, there
| nv QSk he. ,N1n
Monday, September 4, 1899, III cases
and ITO deaths were reported in that
city.
Western India being now threatened
with famine on account of the failure
of the monsoons to produce the usual
amount Of rain to nourish the crops
and induce late sowing, it is feared
that the coming season will witness
further ravage of the plague.
The distance may save America; yet
this scourge repeatedly reached Eu-
rope in the early centuries. 1t is now
raging in the East, and there is rea-
son to fear that it is gathering force.
1t has appeared in Alexandria, Egypt,
and Oporto, Portugal, which is only a
weeks journey from the western world,
and the medieval plague is quite ca
pable of taking advantage of modern
rapid travelling.
The plague is an acute infective fe-
yer; its primary cause is a living or
ganism, minute microscopical being
which, having gained entrance to the
body, multiplies with great rapidly,
producing a series of local disturbances
giving rise to characteristic symptoms,
and diffusing throughout the body a
subtle poison which is generally the
cause of death.
Our modern physicians are not much
better equipped for the treatment of
the disease than were their medieval
predecessors. incubation, although
its results are extremely important
and promising, is a prophylactic rath-
or than treatment, a wall against
the enemy rather than weapon with
which to meet 1t. There are, of course,
great advances in the general treat
ment of the cases, but modern science
has not yet discovered a specific
against plague.
The plague microbes are capable of
living and multiplying only while they
have access to supplies of organic
nourishment. They are able to pass
l ullCtIly HUH DOuy " DOuy vi IL lc-
main alive and even multiply outside
of the body. Thus, there are two ways
in which plague may travel; 1t may
creep from patient to patient in di-
rect chain, or 1t may use places where
suitable decaying substances are to be
found as temporary links in the chain.
An antitoxin, or serum, first pre-
pared by Professor Haffkine as a
plague incubation. called Haffkine's
prophylactic, is now being used in
Bombay and western India with re-
markable results.
This prophylactic is prepared by first
taking the plague bacilli, or the young
germs, from person affected with the
plague and cultivating them. These
microbes are killed by artificial means
and high degree of heat. From these
dead germs and their poisonous excre-
ments is produced fluid that is be-
lieved to have acquired the power,
when injected into the human sys-
TEN, to render the blood immune from
the attack of plague germs and to neu-
traliZe their effect. The injection of
such a poison has the effect of an anti
toxin and prevents the system from
nourishlng plague. A dead plague
germ being inoculated into person,
plague will not follow. A person after
having one attack of the disease is
rarely liable to a second The person
first inoculated is subject to symptoms
OF the plague, In vaccination for small
pox living germ is dealt with, where
as in plague incubation dead seed
only are injected
Experiments are now being carried
90 at the laboratory at the Govern
ment House, Parel, Bombay where
further discovery is expected to per-
feet this plague preventive.
Strangely enough. incubation is ex-
ceedngly unpopular among the ma
tives, The Government has had great