(2-utmqui ? op its. THE PLAGUE COMMISSION.

This Commission, consisting of Dr. T. R.

Frazer, m.d., f.r.s., Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Edinburgh, President; A. E. Wright, MD, Professor of Pathology in the Army School, Netley, Dr. M. A. Ruffer, of the Egyptian Sanitary Department ;and Mr. Hewett, Home Secretary Mr.

Cumine,

to the Indian Government, and of the Indian Civil Service, and

Mr. C. Halifax

commenced its sit29th. The object November tings Bombay for which the Commission has been appointed is to inquire into (1) The origin and outbreaks ?f plague; (2) the manner in which the disease is communicated; (3) the effects of the curative serum; (4) the effects of the preventive serum. After examining witnesses, medical and lay who had been specially associated with the epidemic in Bombay, the Commissioners left on the 5th December forDharwar. Here they found the disease raging with the virulence which often attends its invasion of a new quarter. Two years' experience of the plague in India leads to the expectation that there will be about 1,500 deaths out of every 2,000 persons attacked ; but in the Dharwar District hitherto, it may be said, that of every 2,000 persons attacked 1,970 have died. Proceeding to Bangalore on the 11th December where the plague had raised the mortality to 2,500 a month in a population of 60,000? sufficient to cause panic even amongst educated people, the commissioners had further opportunity of seeing the pestilence ami examining more witnesses. They then visited Mysore where the at

Secretary,

as

on

?

?

?

THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.

22 scourge

was

raging

also

Hyderabad

and

the

Central Provinces reaching Calcutta about Chrismas.

Early

in

the

new

year,

they

propose

proceeding to the North-Western Provinces and the Panjab, and ultimately to return to Bombay where they are likely to make a more prolonged stay

as

it

was

and still is the chief seat of the

epidemic.

Bengal arestill reported of all railway The examination plague. still conis, however, Bengal entering passengers tinued by the Sanitary Department; and as an instance of the large amount of work thus involved, it may be mentioned that, at the five observation camps, up to the 11th December, 698,492 passengers had been examined, of whom 26,780 had been detained for a time as 'suspects'; but no cases of plague have been detected for some months past. Calcuttaand the restof

free from

[Jan.

1899.

1871-72 (clasp); with the Hazara 1891 as Principal Medical Officer the Miranzai Expedition in 1891 under Sir William Lockhart as Principal Medical Officer (mentioned in despatches, 1) S.O., and clasp) ; and with the Isazai Expedition in 1892 In the Civil Deas Principal Medical Officer. partment lie served in Bengal as Civil Surgeon, Sanitary Commissioner, Medical Inspector of Emigrants and Superintendent of Emigration, Professor of Midwifery at the Medical College of Calcutta and Obstetric Physician to the Eden Hospital which latter institution owes its origin mainly to him. He was made Honorary Surgeon to the Viceroy in May 1883.

Expedition in Expedition in (clasp); with

WHY MOSQUITO-BITES IRRITATE?

In his interesting article on the infection of birds by the bites of mosquitoes which appears in another column, Major lloss explains the irriM. HAFFKINE ON CURATIVE SERUM. tation of the mosquito-bite as being due to a A notablk feature of M. Haffkine's evidence secretion which the mosquito injects poisonous before the Plague Commission, is the candour into the wound. He has found that the duct with which he admits that all his efforts in the of a large gland in the throat of the mosquito direction of curing plague by means of his opens at the extremity of the piercing apparatus serum have failed. Indeed, he goes further: of the proboscis of blood thirsty little insects. On comparing the mortality among those And he suggests that the use of this secretion who passed through his hands with those who which is injected directly into the depths of treated in the ordinary manner, it was the wound may probably be to paralyse the were found that the mortality was greater among the wounded capillary blood-vessels, so that their patients who passed through his treatment." punctured walls do not contract, and so stop the And in this regard, it will also be remembered, outflowing blood. Some interesting observations that Dr. Miiller of the Pathological Institute of on the mosquito theory of malarial infection are " Vienna, who died of bubonic plague, declined," (riven by Dr. Bignami in the Lancet of Decemaccording to the special correspondent of the ber 3rd. Amongst other points he notes that Times, "an injection of serum, as he did not the common practise amongst orientals in the believe in its efficacy." It is as a prophylactic that tropics of anointing their body with aromatic M Haffkine claims for his serum the attention oils may be intended to defend themselves against of the Commission, though even then he states the bites of these insects. It is strange that, that it cannot prevent or modify the disease if everybody in the tropics suffers so much although the latter developed within a few hours after in- from these irritating pests, no one yet seems to jection. have adequatel}' described the various Indian On the subject of his method of preparing species so that it is still a question whether the this serum, he deprecated any discussion, but dappled-winged' of Major Ross is Anopheles Professor Frazer, while promising to consider clavigcr (Fabr.) or not. this request, declined to bind the Commission in this matter. He is visiting England in May, we learn from Lord Lister, to lay his results before SIR GEORGE BIRDWOOD'S BIRTHDAY. the Royal Society. Although it is now nearly three decades since Sir George Bird wood retired from the THE NEW DIRECTOR-GENERAL. Indian Medical Service, the anniversary of his The new Director-General of the Indian birthday, which falls on December 8th, has been for years in Bombay by his numerous Medical Service, Surgeon-General R. Harvey, celebrated M.D., C.B., D.s.o., of the Bengal Establishment, Parsee, Hindu, and Mahomedan friends, by has an unusually varied and distinguished record decorating the beautiful bronze bust in the with garlands of flowers in botli the civil and military branches of the University Library service. Surgeon-General wreaths. On this day last month, says the and entered the Harvey a similar ceremonial was service as Assistant-Surgeon, March gone 31st, 1865, Times of India, and became Surgeon-General, at an early hour in the through morning. April 1st, were He served with the Bhootan brought in silver trays, and Expedition in Floral tributes 1865-66 (medal with clasp) ; with the Looshai the bust was adorned with garlands of flowers, "

1395!

Jan.

PASTEURISM IK

1899.]

HYDROPHOBIA?ANKYLOSTOMIASIS.

23

being left open to view. Wreaths College standing first in the first College examibouquets of flowers were brought nation for the degree of medical practitioner. requisition, and were displayed to great The Director of Public Instruction and the advantage on and about the pedestal. Amongst Principal of the Medical College are to be those who sent floral offerings were Sir Jamsetjee trustees for the endowment. only

and into

the face

numerous

Bart., Sir Dinshaw M. Petit, Bart., Sir Jehangir and Lady Cowasjee Jelmngir, Ladjr and Miss M. M. Bhownuggree, the Patel family, Sirdar Oomar Jamal, Sirdar Cassum Mitha, Dr. R. D. Dalai, and about a hundred others. Many f the educated natives, who had the benefit of his advice and help during their stay in England, also joined the movement, and a wealth of flowers, ferns, and evergreens was displaj'ed in the hall. Baskets of beautiful roses, specially ordered from Poona, and some of the choicest English and Indian flowers, were laid out in artistic designs. Sir Jehangir and Lady Readymoney gave a dinner party on Thursday night at their residence, Readymone}7 Hall, in honour of the occasion, when a large number of Parsee friends of Sir George were present. The toast of Sir George, as proposed by Sir Jehangir, was cordially received, and this interesting ceremony closed.

Jeejeebhoy,

WAS DEATH DUE TO PASTEUR'S PROPHYLACTIC?

The

following telegram from Lahore to a contemporary dated 30th November last, under the heading of "Strange Death from Hydrophobia," is worth studying if true; and it is given as A young man, named O'Leary, circumstantial. of the Military Works Department, was bitten by a dog three months ago in Mian Mir, and was sent off immediately to the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He went through the inoculations there, and then returned, apparently cured, to Mian Mir a few weeks ago. He died last Sunday night of hydrophobia. A peculiar point in the case is that the dog is still alive, and has so far not shown any signs of rabies O'Leary was "

bitten just above the knee, and arrived in Paris with the wound healed up." RESEARCH LABORATORY FOR INDIAN DRUGS.

The princely gift of the Parsee Millionaire Mr. Jamsetjee Tata for the endowment of Medical and Sanitary research in India, was referred to last month. A further provision for medical research in Bombay has just been made by another native gentleman, Again Laxmanwalla, in a laboratory for the investigation of native drugs. This building has cost Rs. 30,000, and are also and funds for its

provided.

equipment

upkeep

GROSE MEMORIAL PRIZE.

This prize founded in memory of the late Mr. Grose of the Madras Civil Service, and of the yearly value of about Rs. 35 will be awarded to the female student of the Madras Medical

ANKYLOSTOMUM DUODENALE.

In the Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift, No. 36, 1896, Dr. W. Ginn and Dr. Martin Jacoby published certain observations which they had made on the presence of the ankylostomum duodenale and other parasites in the intestines of natives of India, and they arrived at two main conclusions thus summarized in the Lancet November 19th) (1) when the ankylostomum has gained a hold amongst a native tribe of India, it spreads with great rapidity amongst the members of the tribe ; and (2) it appears very probable that a person may have the ankylostoma in his intestine without being the subject of ankylostomiasis. In the summer of this year, 1898, the same observers had opportunities of examining the stools of several natives. Of the faeces of 8 natives of Ceylon, in 8 the ova of ankylostomum duodenale were found, in 7 those of the trichocephalus dispar, and in 6 those of the ascaris. In the stools of 6 natives of Madras in 6 were observed the ova of ankylostomum duodenale, in 6 those of trichocephalus dispar, and in 5 those of ascaris, and in 2 of the Madras natives the larvae of anguillula intestinalis appeared. The first of the above proportions was therefore corroborated by the new investigations. As supporting the second of their conclusion, Dr. Ginn and Dr. Jacoby found that a large number of Asiatics and Africans in whose stools the ova of the ankylostomum were found exhibited no signs of anaemia. Amongst certain tribes there O seemed to exist a certain immunity from ankylostomiasis. But the immunity was limited and by no means absolute. m

A NEW DHOOLY.

The

unadaptability of the Indian dhooly to mountain warfare has frequently been alluded to in these columns. A new dhooly for India, invented by Mr. Charles Powell, late of the Indian Civil Service, was exhibited, says the British Medical Journal, at the India Office on October 31st. It is extremely light compared to the dhooly recently used in the Afridi campaign, and can be carried with a wounded man by two or four it is constructed of bamboo, rattan Kahars. cane, and Indian grasses?that is to say, of materials easily obtained locally. It is reported to be well covered and easy of carriage, and does away with the jolting of the one-poled dhooly; it is also 30 lbs. lighter than that unsatisfactory appliance. Of course such an invention would require a full trial on service before its advantages and adaptability can be established.

THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.

24

PLAGUE APPOINTMENTS FOR INDIA.

batch of ten medical men is being sent out to India for plague duty in Southern India. Twenty-five have been sent to India within the last three months, and. the present addition brings the complement up to 35. It is now some two years since the Indian Government began bringing out specially engaged mediMost of those precal men for plague work. from India, their have returned viously engaged A few are reterminated. having engagement tained, and one or two have settled in private practice. The conditions of service are: A minimum stay of six months; the ordinary time for which they stipulate to serve is nine months, but this period may be extended according to circumstances; a first-class return passage is provided, and an allowance of ?25 for outfit. On arrival the medical officers of the next batch are requested to report themselves to the Surgeon-General at Madras. The pay amounts to 500 rupees (about ?33) a month and. travelling allowance ; those engaging for a second tour of duty receive GOO rupees a month. Since the outbreak of plague in India well nigh 100 medical men have been sent out by the Secretary of State for India for plague duty. A

FURTHER

BOMBAY

NOTES.

The cold weather rather diluted so far, may nevertheless be said to have fairly set in with us here at the end of November, and its arrival has been coincident with a rise in the plague mortality ; the rise is slight, but it is there all the same and its presence is disquieting'. Among the principal witnesses examined here bv the plague commission were M. Haffkine, SurgeonGeneral Bainbridge, Lt.-Colonel Weir, and Captain Childe, I. M. S., whose evidence bore testimony to the wealth of facts concerning the plague which have already been accumulated by observers in India. With respect to structural defects of houses in the insanitary Chawls, the most serious point is the cursory way in which plans for new buildings are passed by the Bombay Municipality. An instance is given of the passing without demur of a proposal to raise a six-storeyed house on the walls of a one-storeyed godown. The result of course was th.it, the structure collapsed killing three and wounding four people. Responsibility for passing such a preposterous plan does not appear easy to fix on the proper shoulders, and the matter is being comfortably hushed up. The whole series of cases brought forward only shews how far removed we are from an effective control over an utterly unscrupulous class of persons of whom it is not too much to say, that if they do not care whether their houses stand up, they certainly will not trouble themselves about their cleanliness. Truth has some ugly stories about the trooping service from Bombay we do not

[Jan.

1899.

know whether all the facts quoted can be established, but in regard to the embarkation of troops in the stream instead of at the dock wall, we confess the complaint seems well-founded. The railway's run into both the Victoria and Princes docks where there is space for the largest trooper to berth alongside to rails, and in face of this it seems a little absurd to incur the extra labour involved in conveying the troops with their sick and baggage by lighter from the Sassoon dock nearly two miles out to the trooper anchorage. In the interests of the sick alone, we should have thought it more advisable to embark direct at the docks. The lighters provided under the present arrangement seem calculated to convey men with the maximum of discomfort and overcrowding; they are the last conveyances that should be selected for the sick who must suffer from the double transhipment that is now held to be necessary. INSTRUCTION IN TROPICAL DISEASE IN LONDON. A CIRCULAR has been issued from the Colonial Office to the medical schools in furtherance of Mr. Chamberlain's proposal ready alluded to it) our London Letter, for establishing a school to give Colonial and other medical officers clinical instruction in tropical diseases such as is given at Netley and Haslar, in the case of Medical Officers of the Army, Navy, and Indian Medical Services, and which, from lack of the necessary material, cannot invariably be given The circular states at the Medical Schools. The that arrangements have now been made. Directors of the Seamen's Hospital at the Albert Docks, which offers exceptional opportunities The for studying cases of tropical disease. Directors are providing the necessary buildings and teachers for the accommodation and instruction of the Medical Officers who may hearafter be selected by Foreign Office and the Colonial Office for appointments in the tropics, and it will also be available for Medical Missionaries and others desiring such special instruction. The Lancet believes that the hospital at the Albert Docks is unlikely to afford sufficient material, and suggests that the school be placed nearer the heart of London. THE NEW GENERAL HOSPITAL OF CALCUTTA.

construction of a new building for the General Hospital at an estimated cost of Rs. 22,00,000 has at last been sanctioned. It is TH15

impossible

to

provide

so

large

a

and arrangements have been made

sum

at once;

to construct

buildings gradually, the subsidiary will be of immediate which buildings advantage In to the existing hospital being taken up first. the current year's budget three lakhs have beon and it has been decided in addition block as the to such construction ot the male funds permit, to take up the following works the

new

provided,

Jan.

SOLDIER-COOKS?MISCELLANY.

1899.]

in the first instance and in the following order, viz.:?(1) the contagious diseases ward; (2)the main kitchen, including a milk store and dairy ; and (3) the steam laundry, and thus provide at once these most necessary appendages to the existing hospital, The entire work will take some years to carry out, bnt when complete, it will supply one of the most pressing wants of the town. The Committee appointed to state how the existing defects of the hospital can best be remedied, to examine the nursing arrangements, the supply of bedding, &c., and to report on the general system of supervision, and the adequacy of the staff of servants and to suggest rules for management, have only recently submitted their report, which is now under the consideration of Government. SOLDIER-COOKS IN INDIA.

Tiie connection between the

prevalence of enteric fever and the uncleanliness of cooks and their careless methods of dealing with food served out for the use of soldiers has received much attention, and it has in consequence, says the British Medical Journal, been proposed that the British soldier should do his own cooking in India just as he does at home. Colonel Mathias, of the Gordon Highlanders, introduced the system into the battalion, now 011 its way home, and the effect this summer was most marked. There were, it is believed, 110 cases of enteric fever among the men, and the soldier cooks did their work in such a manner as to give full satisfaction to the company messes. The military authorities are aware of the good results obtained among the Gordons; and it is to be hoped that the Government of India will, through the military authorities, cause immediate action to be taken in this matter. If doubt exists about the need of such action, there is nothing to prevent the authorities selecting a dozen regiments in various parts of India, plains and hill stations alike, for experiment with soldier cooks only. Of the result we may be pretty sure. There is, in fact, no reason why soldiers should not cook their own food in India ; and we understand that the Principal Medical Officer in India is in favour of this procedure, as is also the Director-General of the Indian Medical Service

at

Simla.

A useful branch of jeen

established

Army chiropodists has just

says the if. S. connection with the Royal Army Medical Corps. Several Staff-Sergeants having passed successfully through London examinations, will be now fully qualified to teach others the art of A better caring for the feet. bright" could not have struck the medical authorities, for the knowledge will prove invaluable in the treatment of men who come into hospital as a result of long and too trying marches.

(razette,

in

at

Aldershot,

25

An Aluminium industry has been started in by the Madras School of Arts which has already furnished various equipments made of this metal for the medical department. Towards developing this promising industry the Government has granted an additional allotment of 30,000 rupees.

India

Lieutenant Meagher, who has so successfully managed the Allahabad dairy farm, has submitted proposals for similar institutions at Lucknow, Agra, and Meerut.

to

Major A. M. Davies, r.a.m.c., has been

Quetta

deputed

and Wanovvrie (Poona) to inquire into the sanitary condition of those cantonments. There has been an abnormal amount of enteric at Quetta and much sickness at Poona.

Suugeon-Geneiial Harvey, Director-General Medical Service, has arrived at Calcutta 011 completion of a tour through the

of the India

Bombay

and Madras Presidencies.

Plague has claimed another medical victim the late Dr. the Mahratta

in

Chownker, who was in charge Plague Hospital in Bombay.

of

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