The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-28


 the World--Conveyed in Mod
 ern Times Chiefly Along
 the Water Routes.
 Chicago Chronicle.
 The surest means of preventing wis., itation of the bubonic plague, which has recently gained a foothold in Mexico, Is to begin an active crusade against rats. The disease especially affects these little rodents and is carried from place to place principally by them. Careful investiga- tions show that every considerable out break of the plague has been preceded by great fatality among the rats of the locality and in every case where a com- potent microscopist has made Sn exami- nation the bacillus pestic has been found in the bodies of the dead rats. What hap pens is that the rats from a plague stricken port migrate from the vessel which has carried them, perhaps in con- sequence of the fact that they are dying. They thus infect the shore rats, which eat their dead companions, until point Is reached when the living rats are no longer capable of thus disposing of the dead. It is then that the attention of man is drawn to the large number of dead rats lying about the wharves and that inves- tigation has shown them to have died of this disease In communities without san- itary officers this process may continue unchecked for years. the soil of the place thus becomes thoroughly impregnated with the bacilli. especially in countries where there is no proper disposal of hu- man excreta and where the interruptions often bury dead bodies in order to effect concealment. It is then that the septi- AI.- mon.
 Defoe's immortal description has given this aspect of an epidemic a prominence in the popular mind to which the modern success in mitigating visitations of this dread disease shows that 1t Is not en- tiled.
 Control of Rats Important.
 From the above it is evident that it is even more important to control rats than to segregate human beings and the most elaborate precautions are taken in the conduct of maritime commerce from plague-stricken ports to%prevent the de- portation of diseased rats. One of the most successful measures for achieving this Is the sulphur fumigating plant de- vised by the Louisiana State Board of Health and at present used with such success of Dr. Thomas at Port Eads His description of the contrivance excit- ed great interest in Europe, where 1t was published in The British Medical Journal. This shows the vigilance and progressive methods of the quarantine of- ficers of the Gulf ports and will go far to establish that confid once among other people upon which our commercial fu- ture depends
 Experience has shown, however. that land quarantine. however yigilant, always allows few loopholes and, in addition 10 the admirable measures which Dr. Tabor, State Health Officer of Texas, has recommended, the measure of keep ing every individual from a plague dis trict under medical observation for at least ten days will enable any case which may have been incu5ating plague during its Journey to be detected and isolated.
 All persons with swollen glands of re- cent standing who can possibly have been in contact with either persons or goods from plague district should i'm mediately take medical advice and, unless suffering from some other disease, must be kept under observation for some days Travelling Slowly Around the World.
 This disease, which is now exciting so much apprehension in the United States has been slowly travelling around the world since the middle of the last cen- tury. It's course Is he eastern portion of Central Asia, where it is more or less cpl demic in different communities travelling now toward the Chinese litoral and at other times in the directions of the Le- want.
 Asiatic or Levantine plague, the great plague of London and the black death were all the same as this disease. His tOrical records show haf bo ing the middle ages used to travel along the caravan routes, while our reports now show 1t to be conveyed chiefly by water, although 1t still travels slowly from place to place overland. The dis ease is just as virulent now as it was in the middle ages, as is shown by its ap- palling mortality in the crowded and un- sanitary villages of India, where 1t has not yet been eradicated
 In countries where conditions of sanita- tion approach the civilized the disease is now controlled with comparative ease, al- though at great expenditure of money Cases have occurred not only on steam ships, but in warehouses or residences on the wharves of London. Glasgow, Car diff But prompt isolation and thorough cleansing of the whole locality in the manner presently to be described have eff
  It's spread beyond the original cases. Tn South Africa also the disease was con trolled, though only after a visitation of some eighteen months, and the number of deaths did not exceed few hundred, and these were chiefly among the color ed population living in the slums of the large cities. This was only accomplished, however at great expense. It Is proba- be that similar measures will be sue cessful in San Francisco. where the cn- mate and other conditions are very sim liar to those in Cape Town. for example, The greatest bar to successful measures for prevention Is the ignorance which causes the desire to conceal cases, rather than to let the health officer see all sus- picious symptoms at once. It can readily be understood that the earlier a case is segregated the smaller opportunity has 1t of conveying contagon.
 Caused by Small Parasite. The symptoms of bubonic plague are caused by small vegetable parasite known as bacillus pestis It is smaller than the microbe of anthrax. diphtheria or tuberculosis. Like most germs 1t pro- duces fever. while the other symptoms vary with the channel through which the N E