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and air in dwellings, and I take this opportunity of giving the following quotations from some of the most modern standard works on the subject of bubonic plague!--
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND ¦ the Sanitary Board be so good as to send a doctor dead in the Convent, and, if in some cases the every day to inspect the bodies of all persons,
the Sanitary Board may have the body removed post-mortem examination is thought necessary, to the public mortuary at their expense; (2) to let the Sisters do as before and advise them to report to the Sanitary Board every case doubt. ful and of a diffenlt diagnosis.
I have, etc.,
The most important safeguards against the generation and spread of plague are personal cleanliness, the removal of organic waste from about the dwellings, good drainage of the soil and the prevention of overcrowding.' Abbott, | 1899.
"Plague is an infectious filth disease, fostered by destitution, overcrowding and lack of ventilation. Whitelegge, 1899.
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The most potent circumstances which pre- dispose to the epidemic outbreak of plague are filth and overcrowding. In such circumstances the virus, once introduced, tends to spread. It be difficult to indicate the exact way or
may ways in which filth and overcrowding operate, but certain it is, as experience has shown, that in sanitary hygienic conditions plague does not spread, and that in opposite conditions it may for a time spread like wildfire.' Manson, 1900.
The disease (plague) is intensely contagious, selecting usually the poorest of classes as its victims or those living under circumstances of overcrowding and without adequate ventilation or a proper food supply.' Notter, 1900.
The principal results of the excessive height of buildings in narrow streets are :-
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The Hon. the Colonial Secretary.
(8d.) L. M. Pr zzoli, The following minutes. were appended : - Mr. Brewin "I do not see why special Convents. No one has suggested that the are necessary in the case of the Convents are in the habit of concealing cases of infectious disease. The opinion of the Sisters as to the cause of death is just as good as that of a sanitary inspector. Every doubtful case should be reported to the Board,"
Dr. Clark: "It is not a case of concealment, but of want of knowledge."
On the motion of Dr. CLARK, seconded by Dr. BELL, it was agreed to recommend the Government to sanction that the bodies of all children dying after admission to the Convents be sent to the public mortuary for post-morteim' examination.
Mr. BBEWIN voted against the proposal.
SANITARY Surveyor's report.
second quarter of 1901 was submitted. There The report of the Sanitary Surveyor for the
The reported was adopted.
"(I) The exclusion of light and air from the dwellings, and (2) the encouragement of exces- sive surface-crowding, and it is on these well-were no minutes. established grounds that the Sanitary Board has urged for the past three years the reduc- tion of the present scale, irrespective of any statistics as to the present distribution of such diseases in the Colony of Hongkong.
PUBLIC LATRINE AT YAUMATI.
Dr. CLARK, pursuant to notice, moved: That the Board bag to recommend that a site of Crown land which is situated at the corner public latrine of forty seats be erected on that of Kennedy Street and Market Street, Yaumati, to the east of Kennedy Street, and to the
It is, I believe, an admitted fact that when bubonic plague was first introduced into this colony, it raged in the dirtiest and most over- crowded district of the city, namely Taiping-south of Market Street." shan, which was in consequence demolished. Now that the disease has become endemic its incidence is governed by other factors, of which the social grade of the native residents in the several districts may possibly (as I have already suggested) be one, while dissemination of the disease by rats will probably be another."
Mr. May: "It has been proved, I believe, that the plague bacillus is rendered innocuous after exposure for 12 hours in a strong light, or 4 hours in the sun, and that it cannot live for more than 4 days if exposed to fresh air. It follows that the best natural prevention of plague is light and air, and that such is the case was demonstrated in 1894 when over 4,000 Chinese were removed from Taipingshan, which was yielding fifty cases a day at the time, to well-lit and airy houses at West Point (where they were closely watched) with the result that only ten cases of plague developed among them. This was in the first week in June in the height of the epidemic."
The PRESIDENT moved that the report con. tained in Dr. Clark's minute be forwarded to the Government.
Dr. BELL seconded, and the motion was carried. REPLY FROM GOVERNMENT RELATIVE TO THE RXCESSIVE CHINESE INFANT MORTALITY.
The following letter with enclosure from the Colonial Secretary, dated 17th July, was sub- mitted:-"With reference to suggestions Nos and 5 of the Medical Officer of Health forwarded under your covering letter of No. 100 of the 14th ult., I am directed to transmit to you for the consideration of the Banitary Board the enclosed copy of a letter from Biship Piazzoli. (Enclosure).
Hongkong, 12th July, 1901. Sir,-With reference to your letter No. 1,682 of the 9th inst., I beg to inform you that u register of all infants received at the Italian and French Convent is kept at the Convent, and such register is accessible to the officers of the Sanitary Board at any reasonable hour; but I must call your attention to the fact that the information received by the Sisters are few and of a very unreliable nature, as the Chinese very seldom tell the truth, especially when there. is some interest in telling a story.
In regard to paragraph 2 of your letter, that all persons dying in the Convents should be removed to the public mortuary for a post- mortem examination unless a medical certificate' be produced, I should like to suggest (1) that
have we asked for next year's estimate?"
Mr. May minuted : How many latrines The motion was agreed to.
PLAGUE PRECAUTIONS.
to
14
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(July 29, 1901.
Mr. Brewin: "Recommend re-opening at ones. no greater than it was the first week in April. The number of cases in Victoria is, I believe,
The week before the theatres were re-opened in The lessee is probably losing $1,200 a month. 1899, the number of deaths in Victoria was twenty, last week it was twelve."
Mr. May" End of month.” President: End of month.”
The PRESIDENT moved that the Board recommend the Government that these theatres be opened at the end of the present month.
Mr. OSBORNE seconded, and the motion was carried.
MESSES. BUTTERFIELD AND SWIBM's PLAGUE HOSPITAL.
On the motion of the PRESIDENT, seconded by Dr. BELL, a report by Inspector Robertson, Shaukiwan, on the private hospital at Quarry Bay, was sent to Messrs. Batterfield and Swire for their remarks.
THE PROPOSED PLAGUE HOSPITAL AT QUARRY BAY, Butterfield & Swire's proposed plague hospital Further correspondence relative to Messrs. at Quarry Bay was laid on the table.
The firm, in a letter dater 28th June, express- ed surprise at the position taken up by the Board, inasmuch as Dr. Kwan's diploma and' qualifications should be sufficient guarantee for the correctness of his certificates and their they were unable to accede to the request that acceptance by the Board. They regretted that European supervision should be provided by them. They had already gone to great expense in their desire to assist the authorities to combat the plague at Quarry Bay, and this very considerable outlay was one which they felt learned from Dr. Kwan that his certificates had they should not be called upon to incur. They been accepted on previous occasions when no European initialling was deemed necessary, and in view of this the condition which was now sought to be attached to acceptance of his professional services seemed hardly justifiable.
This last statement is blue-pencilled “Untrue” by Dr Clark.
Mr. MAY, pursuant notice moved: On July 18, Messrs Butterfield & Swire That the Board appoint a sub-committee to again wrote to the Board. They enclosed. cautions against and dealing with an epidemic result of the Board's voting must be as revise the existing procedure for taking pre-a letter from Dr Kwan, and said that the of plague." ont that on 17th May, 190, the Medical Officer the matter be referred to His Excellency thọ The Secretary, in a minute attached, pointed themselves. They therefore suggested that unsatisfactory to the members as it was to
of Health submitted a report on the same subject, | Governor for his decision. and that it had been considered by a committee of the Board.
Mr. OSBORNE seconded, and the motion was carried.
appointed to the sub-committee.
Dr. Clark and Messrs. May and Osborne were
WILD DELL BUILDINGS.
cleansed and disinfected. Dr. CLARK recom- These premises having been thoroughly mended that the order of 27th June requiring them to be closed be withdrawn.
On the motion of the PRESIDENT, seconded by Mr. OSBORNE, the recommendation was given effect to.
CHEUNG SHA WAN PLAGUE CEMETERY.
Correspondence was submitted relative to the closing of the Plague Cemetery at Kennedy. town and the opening of a new one.
Mr. Browin minuted: "I do not see why Cheung Sha Wan is to be preferred to Sandy Bay. I believe the neighbourhood will become populous very rapidly."
General seen this valley? If so, I don't think Dr. Clark minuted: "Has the Registrar- he would expect it to become populons very rapidly."
Cemetery at Cheung Sha Wan be re-opened.
The PRESIDENT moved that the Plague
carried.
Dr. CLARK seconded, and the motion was
Osborne did not vote.
Dr. BELL and Mr. Brewin opposed; Mr.
RE-OPENING OF CHINESE THEATRES,
to the re-opening of the Chinese theatres.
Correspondence was laid on the table relative
The following minutes were appended :- Lt. Col. Hughes: "Re-open next week if the plague statistics continue favourable.” ing at once."
Mr Fang Wa Chün: "I recommend re-open-
plague.”
Mr. E. Osborne: “End of July if no more
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Dr. Bell: "Wait till end of month.”
Dr Kwan's letter described the decision of the as a medical practitioner qualified to take Sanitary Board, in refusing to recognise him
a great injustice, not so charge of the Hospital at Quarry Bay, as much tɔ his professional standing as to the institution which every well-wisher of science hailed the Far East, and of which he had the honour with delight as a harbinger of a new era in to be one of the first graduates. In support of his qualifications Dr. Kwan offered a resumé of his past career and the posts he held. In 1887, when the College of Medicine for Chinese was inaugurated, he became one of the students of the first class. Having passed all the necessary requirements prescribed in the curriculum, he matriculated in the year 1883, and obtained a diploma signed by the members of the faculty, some of whom had been and now were mom- bers of the Sanitary Board. Immediately, he was called to take charge of the Nethersole Hospital as House-Surgeon. In 1894, when the it wrought was still fresh in their memories— plague first broke out the terrible destruction he was sent to take charge of the Alice Memorial Branch Plague Hospital at Kennedy Town. He was there night and day through- out the whole time of the epidemic, and, strange to say, he did not receive even a word of recognition of his services during those terrible, months, although a common Indian con- stable was rewarded with a plague medal. In 1896 he resigned his post in the Nether- sole Hospital, having received an appoint- ment from H. E. Liu Kung-yi, Viceroy of Liang Kiang, as surgeon-in-chief of all the Yangtase Forts under his jurisdiction. In this capacity he served the Uhinese Government three years, giving entire satisfaction to kis superior officers. In 1899, in defereños" to hisTM father's wishes, he resigned his post - and returned to Hongkong, where he had established himself as a local practitioner. In conclusion