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Health Department of that Colony and asked him whether any fowls examined had been reported to have suffered from plague.
Dr. LORANS replied in the following words: "In answer to your letter of August 30th last, I may inform you that we have noticed epizootics of fowl cholera (at least judging from the microscopical appearance of the disease) in Mauritius in various places and at different times. In some the mortality in fowls, etc., pre- ceded or followed plague outbreaks, but I am not prepared to say it was more than a coincidence. In no case was plague declared to be the cause of these occurrences though we are aware of Professor SIMPSON's views and are on the watch."
I understand that Mauritius is not yet supplied with a properly designed and fitted bacteriological laboratory and is therefore at present on the same footing as Hongkong in this respect. Nevertheless in spite of this and of the conclusion arrived at in Mauritius by miscroscopical examination that these epizootics were due to fowl cholera and not plague, I am inclined to attach some importance to Dr. Lorans'
communication.
The
Mauritius has not like Hongkong to import its daily "fresh bazaar." Flour and grain stuffs are imported, bullocks also for the supply of beef, fowls never. Colony is more self-contained than is Hongkong. The presence of an epizootic amongst fowls therefore shewing on the microscopic examination of their blood and organs a bacillus of the type causing fowl cholera would naturally cause en- quiries to be made for collateral evidence of its connection with outbreaks of plague. Seeing that these epizootics occurred at different times and places and that the Medical and Health Department were fully aware of Professor SIMPSON'S views and that yet no connection between the epizootics and outbreaks of plague was traced, I think that the question of the causation of plague through the eating of poultry dying from disease needs careful reconsideration in this Colony. Chickens and fowls are a luxury not often indulged in by the poorer Chinese. A man with only himself to feed will eat fowl two or three times a mouth only while earning a monthly wage of 12-14 dollars.
Of the animal foods entering into the diet of the Chinese labourer in Hong- kong fish holds the chief place and this is often in the form of salted fish.
In the case for the gastro-intestinal theory of infection as the chief mode of inducing plague the stage has not yet been reached of discovering an epizootic of plague amongst fish.
Some fish is, however, eaten raw occasionally as I have mentioned above.
Seeing that the labouring man buys his food in quantities for one meal at a time not only because his food depends on his daily earnings but also because he has no means of keeping it fresh in the warm weatlier, there is very little chance of food being contaminated by infective material within a domestic building.
There remains, however, the possibility of food material in its raw state being contaminated in the markets and shops selling it and also of certain already cooked food sold at restaurants being liable to come into touch with infective matter whe- ther from a human or rat source. This cooked food retailed to outside customers from the restaurants is in the form of different kinds of cakes. It is the custom, however, to prepare only as inuch of these each day as will probably be sold. Stale food is at a discount.
The same practice is carried out in the case of the roast pork and fresh poultry shops. Early closing is unknown to the Chinese shopkeeper. As long as he can sell his goods so long will he continue to offer them to the public.
The chances of contamination of this class of food in the shops is, therefore, not so great as might appear at first.
With the markets it is different. They are closed at 9 p.m. and re-opened at 4 a.m.,
and a certain amount of food in them remains overnight.
This is mostly in the form of green vegetables.