Sessional_Paper_1903 — Page 314

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The result of the examination is interesting, at first in March only .03 per cent. of the rats caught were infected with plague.

At the end of May the percentage of plague infected rats was 5.9, this rose until the third week in July when it reached 7.8 per cent., since then it gradually fell until November when it was 1.7 per cent.

Notwithstanding the fact that from September to the end of the year plague in man had practically ceased, plague infected rats were still found, the percentage varying from 1.7 per cent. to 1.1 per cent. at the end of the year and then in- fected rats came from practically every health district in the Colony.

Haffkine's prophylactic. The whole of the plague staff was inoculated with anti-plague serums and not a single case occurred amongst them. It was in- possible however to induce Chinese generally to be inoculated.

Enteric fever. There were 55 cases as compared with 75 in 1901. These were equally distributed throughout the year, the numbers for the respective quarters being 16, 12, 12 and 15. Five of these were imported cases.

Malarial fever.-There was a still further reduction in the number of deaths returned as amongst the Chinese from malarial fevers, the figures for the last three years being 393 in 1902, 541 in 1901, and 887 in 1900.

Anti-malarial measures, viz., removal of undergrowth, training of nullahs and draining of stagnant pools, were continued during the year.

Beri-beri.-There were more deaths reported from this disease than in previous years, the numbers being 452 as against 377 in 1901 and 361 in 1900.

Dengue. An extensive outbreak of this disease took place.

Some fifty cases occurred in the autumn of the previous year, the disease evidently having been introduced from Singapore.

Every section of the community were affected, over 400 cases having been admitted to the Government Civil Hospital alone. The earliest cases occurred towards the end of June, it was prevalent in July, more prevalent in August and commenced to decline in September with the onset of the cool weather and in October it soon died out. Considerable inconvenience was caused commercially as many firms employing large numbers of men had great difficulty at the height of the epidemic in obtaining workmen.

the

It is to be hoped that this disease is not going to become endemic.

The following table gives the number of infectious diseases notified during year 1902:

Disease.

Plague,

Small-pox,

Enteric Fever,

Diphtheria,

Puerperal Fever,.....

Scarlet Fever................

Cholera,

1

1

27 157 194 131

50

2 2

1

572

:

19

14

7

I

2

**

1

5

1

20

:

600

50 108 165 35 26 60 12

ลง

460

1.171