The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-05-23
TWELVE CASES IN THE SECOND
OUTBREAK.
Rats Shown to Have Played an I'M
portant Part in 1.-THE Aggressive
War on Rodents.

YOKOHAMA, May 12.-Slnce the bu-
bonic plague made it's re-appearance in
Osaka April 8, there have been twelve
cases up to this date. The Department
of Home Affairs, in view of this fact
now contemplates suspending the
transportation from the city Of old
cotton, paper, rags, and other articles,
which are suspected of being infa ted
with the plague bacillus.
On May Z, a conference on the sub
ject was held at the Sanitary Bureau
of the Home Department and various
measures for its suppression were dis
cussed
Mr.. Takahashi, Chief of the Sanitary
Department Of Osaka, replying to
charges made in the newspapers that
the authorities had suppressed news
of number Of cases occurring in Feb
ruary, denied the charges emphatically
He said that preventive measures had
been taken with every suspicious case
since the first outbreak. Where the
! history of the case and the symptoms
did not clearly show that it was or was
! not case of bubonc plague the au-
| thorities made analytical examination
| and observation of the developments
of the blood, after it had been trans
| ferred for purposes of observation, to
a rat. This examination and obserVa-
| tion sometimes took several days, and
! the authorities did not report every
! suspicious case undergoing eXamina-
tion, but they had been enforcing every
| possible preventive measure, such as
| isolation and the general cleaning of
! the locality until the nature of the case
| could be established. There was no
genuine case of plague till this month,
! after it had become extinct early in
/ the year, and no cases had been con-
! cealed.
| The number of rats bought by the
I 1. L. es..a.
! plague was 2I555 up to the time this
precaution was abandoned Thee num-
| Der of rats since thrown into the boxes
| provided for the purpose in the streets
| up to the 22nd inst. was 6,43S. They
were all taken to the cremation srUdnd
| and at once destroyed. The number
of dead rats discovered by the police
| or brought to them up to the 22nd inst.
| was 39S and they were all analytically
examined. Thirty eight of them were
| discovered to have been infected by
! plague. Examinations were held on
| the bodies of persons supposed to have
died of plague, pneumonia and twelve
! other diseases which presented symp-
toms similar to plague since the first
outbreak of plague, and $50 cases out
of 1926 were analytically examined VI
to the goth inst. of which As cases haC
been proved to be genuine plague
| Forty-two cases of these were those
reported in the first period of infection
and the remaining three those reported
| after the renewal this month. Mr.. Ia
kahashi stated also that 1t is not prob
able that plague germs will be easily
eXterminated in Osaka and the author
tiles took most elaborate measures
even after the first epidemic and these
| measures would continue to be enfor-
ced in the future as we'll as at present
Six dead rats were discovered in the
house occupied by the last plague vic
tim who died at Kitahoriye, Roku-
chome, yesterday, and another at the
house of the woman who died of plague
on April at Kuja They were sub.
mitted to analytical examination. Some
400 persons at Kitahoriye and some
persons at Kujo both plague infected
localities, were treated with the Haff
kline serum as a preventive measure
on Thursday.
The Osaka Jail authorities are TAX
ing all possible preventive measure:
against the plague and new convict!
are isolated in quarter for three days
Their clothing is thoroughly disinfecteC
by steaming process before they mi2
with other prisoners
The Ajikawa Water Police, Osaka
are also taking active measures for tn
capture of rats on board steam boati
or junks which have arrived in tn,
Ajikawa since the first outbreak o
! plague in the city