288
Mw
effort has therefore been made to drive the rats away from human
dwellings. Accordingly during the present epidemic an area of some
ten acres of the City of Victoria was declared Plague infected
and the Sanitary staff proceeded to remove all ceilings, stair-
linings, wainscottings and other structures behind which rats
could breed, from the dwellings within this area. Nineteen cases
of Plague had occurred therein up to the end of March, but owing
to the necessary preliminary arrangements which had to be made
with the Chinese inhabitants through the Registrar General, the
work did not actually begin until April 29th and by this time 46
cases of Plague had been removed from this area. This work occu-
pied two months and during this period a further 21 cases occurred
therein, while 15 Plague infected decumanus and 3 Plague infected
rattus were also found in the same district. After the completion
of the work only two further cases occurred in this infected dis-
triot both of which were on the boundary line but it not poss-
ible to draw any very convincing deductions from this/as the epi-
demic was then on the wams. It will be more interesting to note
the effect of these alterations upon this district during the next
Plague season. Other and smaller districts in the City were dealt
with in the same manner, and also an extensive area in kowloon,
and it is proposed gradually extend this work so as ultimately
to rid the native quarters as far as possible of all resting
places for rats within the dwelling houses.
6.
to
Some anxiety was occasioned at one stage of the epidemic by
the occurrence of a few cases of Pneumonic Plague most of these
however were secondary to a general Plague septicaemia, although
a few undoubted cases of primary Pneumonic Plague did occur, one
of them being a valued ward attendant in the Tung Wah Hospital.
It is noteworthy that no case of Plague occurred among the Europe-
an community, although some of the older buildings in the European,
business quarter were invaded by rats, some of which were Plague
infected,
and several Chinese office attendants residing in these
(3)