The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-08-27


| warehouse. AS matter of fact the
last plague rat discovered in San Fran
| cisco was found in a bag of peanuts
on the third floor of warehouse.
In the same way. TOO, rats are car
! ried from ship to shore and the truth
| of kitasatso aphorism that wherever
ships go. plague will go' at once be-
| comes apparent and any regulations
| to prevent the introduction of such
vermin and the plague which they may
| carry to be effective must include the
| inspection of cargo to insure its free
| dom from rats; this inspection to be
made just before it goes on board.
| The work of Ashhurton Thompson in
| Australia and of the British Medical
| omission in India, was a scientific
| demonstration that plague was primari-
| w rat disease transmitted by feas
while Mccoy, in the United States,
has gone further probably than any
one else in demonstrating the manner
| in which the flea does this work. The
Importance of this relation is EN-
| phasized and the difficulty of Kidding
port of pest infection, or keeping
that infection out, is explained by
fact, first observed so far as know
by Klein, of London, that rats suffer
from a chronic form of pest; not fatal,
at least for long time; and during
the course of which the rat may eA
hihit practically his normal activity.
This fact then, that plague is primarily
rat disease. and that it may occur in
the rat in a chronic form, shows how
great the danger may be from their
presence on shipbaard, explains why
it is that where ships go plague will
90. and emphasizes the Importance of
destroying them on shipboard apart
from the damage and loss which their
presence entails.
So important is this and so pre-
eminent is the role played by the rat
in plague transmission and propaga-
ton that I believe regulations should
demand that all ships be disinfected
at least three times and better still
four times a year. for the destruction
of rats If this precaution were taken
and if to it were added an inspection
of cargo at the port of embarkatlon
to insure its freedom from rats l be-
lieve the disinfection of cargo could
be entirely dispensed with. 1t is IN
feetious only in so far as it harbors
rats and if these are not present dis
injecting it in my opinion does as
little good in preventing plague as dip
ping ballast did in preventing yellow
fever.
From what has been said, gentle
men, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
1.-Typhus fever is practically neg
ligihle.
2@Smallpox threatens from all sides
but is not likely to be introduced. Ii
it should be it's mastery is compare
lively easy and extensive or costly
epidemics unlikely.
3-Cholera, if introduced, would
probably reach epidemic proportions,
would claim many victims, would be
difficult to eradicate, and very costly.
It's incubation period, however, is short
five days while the voyage from its
nearest home port is now more than
four times that long and under any
circumstances will exceed the five days.
It's focus on shipboard is readily de-
stroyed and infection is easily avoid
ed. 1t is neither so persistent nor
so widespread as the other quaran-
Unable diseases. That is it does not
! threaten us for 50 long periods nor
from as many ports during the year
as do the others.
q. Yellow fever would find this in
deed a paradise of the Pacific ev-
erything is ready for its coming and
only fresh case or an infected mos
quito is needed to start an epidemic of
alarming proportions. the eradication OF
toy l.
" hundreds of thousands in actual
money spent and millions in the damage
to commerce from the actual restric-
tions and from the mere reputation of
its presence here. The whole west coast
of Central and tropical South America,
but particularly the latter, is an ende-
mic focus of this disease and with these
ports our communications are becom-
ing constantly more frequent and init
mate Only consistent. conscientious
hard work and some measure of good
luck win protect us from an epidemic
sooner or later.
5. Plague we have had and, until
the rat forgets his fancies. are likely
to have again. at least till our gov
eminent, in addition to the precautions
now taken, insists on a quarterly fumi-
CATION of all vessels and rigid inspec-
ton of cargo to determine its freedom
from rats.
In brief then, personally, think
Typhus is negligible, am entirely I'M
alarmed at the chances of our getting
smallpox, believe, while not alarmed,
that cholera deserves and will bear close
watching but look with grave appre-
hension at the ever-increasing intimacy
of our communications with the ende-
mic foci of plague and yellow fever
because of the serious probability of
those diseases sooner or later being com
municated to us.
Why have we not had these Diseases
What is being done to protect us from
them? are questions / would like to
answer at least briefly.
In all the more important ports men,
toned above, officers of the United
States Public Health and Marine Hos
pital Service are stationed whose duties
are to see that the prescribed precau-
tons are observed by vessels in their
respective ports, if these vessels are
destined for United States ports, and to
enter these facts poneernino cargo vas