The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-10
Biz PLAN Of
BOARD Of
HEALTH
In Time of Peace 1t
Prepares for
War.

To still further protect the health of
the community and to provide espe-
cially for protection from a possible
outbreak of yellow fever, the Board
of Health is now celebrating a scheme
whereby, should it ever become neces-
sary, concerted and intelligent action
to check any spread of the fever can
be put into operation throughout every
section of the city within half an
hour after the first case appears. DR..
Pratt is now at work preparing COM
plete sanitary description of each in
dividual block in the city containing
over six buildings, marking every
place within each block which might
harbor mosquitoes or be the means of
infection.
In every block will be appointed an
agent of the Board of Health from
among the citizens, and written and
full instructions will be supplied to
each, outlining in full particulars how
to act in case of an epidemic. Thus,
at the first suspicious symptom
brought to the attention of the board,
word could be sent out and a syste-
matte effort be made throughout the
whole city to prevent any spread
without one minutes loss of time.
In the same way an outbreak of
plague could be handled should there
be another. Just now the Board of
Health is resting easy in regard to the
bubonic situation on Oahu, not a sus-
picious case having occurred for some
months. An active. rat campaign is
being carried on, there being four
trappers and poisoners in Honolulu,
two working on Oahu outside the city
and two others at Hilo. Every week
at least two hundred dead rats are
examined. bacteriologically for plague,
and since August not one infected rat
has been found. Under the check
made it seems hardly possible that
there could be a recrudescence of bu-
bonic without the authorities being
warned in time to take the necessary
guarding steps. Special orders have
the places where bubonic cases have
been found in the past as possible GEN.
tiers of contagion.
The Board of Health has not been
able to secure an adequate appropria-
tion for quarantine plant, but by
degrees has gradually acquired one
that is unexcelled in the world SO far
as it goes. By taking advantage of
each scare the board has been able
to add bit by bit to its plant, the
single case of. cholera occurring some
time ago enabling the authorities to
secure a sewerage system for the
quarantine hospital and to fit it with
means of disinfecting everything be-
fore turning it into the bay.
A disinfecting room for contacts has |
been added to the hospital recently, by |
means of which all persons that come |
in contact with suspected cases can |
be looked after. These persons are
first taken into room where all |
clothing is taken off and left; they |
pass into a second room where all are |
bathed in disinfectants, and then into |
the third and last room of the plant, |
where fresh clothing belonging to the |
hospital is given them. In the mean
while the clothing taken off is disin-
fected in the room where it is left, /
which is so built that it may be
closed up and made alright. The |
board is very anxious to reconstruct
two of the older buildings at the hos
pital, but doubts it's ability to do it
during the present period.
There are seven roomy houses, sin
in connection with the
quarantine hospital, kept for the
rooming of contacts after disinfec-
ton. Each of these houses has de-
tached shower bathroom and detach-
ed outbuildings The popularity about
the cons truction of these seven houses
is that they are all under a common
roof. but are SO built as to have an
ample air space of several feet on
every side.