June 6, 1903.]
be under proper supervision and the arrange ments to be completed in readiness for next spring, when cases of plagu may be expected
to roour.
Mr. Lau Cha Pak minuted-" A very good suggestion. It will probably sare more lives. The present system of carting patients from one end of the town to the other intensifies their suffering."
The VICE-PRESIDENT said it was within the knowledge of members of the Board that on several occasions permission had ben granted for the establishment of what might be termel small branch hospitals in connection with various industrial concerns--the Godown Co. at Kowloon, Messrs. Butterfield & Swire at Quarry Bay, and the Cotton Mills-where the employees could be treated without being dealt with in the ordinary way. These firms appeared to be satisfied that the adoption of that measure by them facilitated matters in helping people to report themselves when they were feeling out of sorts and in carrying on their business, and if that was so in these individual cases he thought it could fairly be assumed that the same would happen if it was adopted as a general method in connection with the City and Kowloon generally.
Mr, LAU CHU Paklscconded..
Mr. POLLOCK said he presumed that if the recommendation was adopted by the Govern. ment an addition to the medical staff would be necessary.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
people on the third floor would be con- taminated. The object of the rec:mmenda- tion was to cause the least inconveniene: to the Chines?. This would not apply to a case of pneumonic plague, which is distinctly contagious. With reference to Mr. Pollock's minute, the first of the bye-laws for the pre- vention or mitigation of endemic, epidemic or contagious disease left cleansing and disinfecting to the discretion of the Medical Officer of Health.
Mr. FUNG WA CHUN proposed that notice of the new procedure be given to the Chinese. It might encourage them to report cases of plague.
Mr. POLLOCK Seconded the proposal, which was adopted.
BILL DISTRICT SCAVENGING.
A report dealing with the scavenging of the Hill district was submitted. It showed that the rubbish removed to the depot and the dust-boats from 18th to 24th ult. was 637 piouls.
Mr. POLLOCK minuted that the scavenging contractor should be kept to his work."
The PRESIDENT said the scavenging contractor's attention had been drawn to the matter by a letter from the Secretary, and if he failed to do h's work properly he would be summoned before the Board.
PLAGUE AT TSAT-TSZ-MUI.
There was submitted a minute by the Acting M. O. H. reporting the occurrence of fou cases The PRESIDENT That is so; that would be of plague in Tsat-tez-mui and suggesting
limewashing, etc., in the village.
the natural result.
The motion was agreed to.
MEASUREMENT O' HOUSES.
Mr. A. RUMJAHN pursuant to notice asked Since the enforcement of Sections 46 and 154 of Ordinance No 1 of 1903 in No. 5 Health District, how many houses have already been measured up, and what steps if any are being taken to enforce the provisions of these Sections and how many pens have been displaced thereby?
Dr. PEARSE replied that a surveyor had been at work in No. 5 Health District since 27th May. In the block in which the survey began were 42 houses and a total number of 147 floors. Of these floors, 36 were unoccupied, and 15 were locked up at the time of the visit and therefore not measured. Of illegal oubicles there were 242, and of kitchens not complying with the provisions of the new Ordinance, 120. Eleven cases of plague had occurred in the blook. The floors measured totalled 132, the number of persous who could occupy these under the old Ordinance was 2,23, and the number who could occupy them under the new Ordinance 1,401.
Not allowing for any alternations under the new Ordinance, the total displacement in these floors was ther, fore 833.
DISINFECTION.
The Acting MOH. recommended that in disinfection operations, with a view to lessen. ing the disturbance of inmates of houses, the clothing and personal effects of all living on the same floor as the affected person should be disinfected and also all clothing of any other persons who might reasonably be supposed to have had intimate personal communication with the sick person; the clothing and effects of others in the same house except as above stated need not be disinfected; the whole house, however, should be cleansed with disinfec- tants and limewashed. He considered this to be necessary in view of the prevailing opinion that a house may beco ne infected through plague-stricken vermin.
Mr. Pollock minuted :-"This question will have to be considered in connection with the Bye-laws.
+1
+
The suggestion was adopted, on the motion of the PRESIDENT, seconded by Mr. POLLOCK.
DOMESTIC CLEANLINESS.
A minute by the Acting M. O. H. was submitted recommending an amendment to the note to Bye-law 5 of the Bye-laws regulating domestic cleanliness and ventilation.
The VICE-PRESIDENT moved that Dr. Pearse's recommendation be adopted.
Mr. POLLOCK seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
IMPURY WELL.
The Government Analyst (Mr. F. Browne) reported that a well at the back of 26, First Street was impure.
It was agreed to eloss it.
W TER SUPPLY.
The report of the Government Analyst on the water supply showed that the water in all the services was of excellent quality.
LIMEWASHING.
The limewashing return for the fortnight ended 26th May showed that 4.378 houses in the Central and 579 in the Western District
had been dealt with.
RATS.
The rat returus showed that during the fort night ended 1st inst. 6,400 rats were destroyed,
of these 417 were infected.
PEAK SCAVENGING.
Regarding this matter, the PRESIDENT said the European Inspectors recently appointed for the Hill District had reported that many of the dust-bins at the Peak houses did not comply with Seo. 7 of the scavenging bye-laws [ Occupiers shall provide themselves with strong substantial movable dust-bins for the reception of the day's house refuse"] and it was proposed to keep a sanitary dust-bin at the S.B.'s Offices as a sample, this being one of those at present in use at the Government Civil Hospital.
Mr. POLLOCK-Can they be obtained here, and what would be the cost?
The PRESIDENT-I think they can be made
locally: an estimate will be be obtained of the
cost.
HOW TO GET RID OF RATS.
The PRESIDENT said many residents had been asking him how to get rid of rats in their houses. A simple expedient was to have a cat in the house as undoubtedly cats keep away rats.
Another practical measure is to keep a few obalties in the basement with chloride of lime in them: if this were moistened chlorine gas would be given off, and our experience proves that rats dislike this smell.
The P. C. M." The cleansing and disinfection is left to the discretion of the M. O. H., but naturally he does not wish to modify them without the consent of the Board.” The PRESIDENT said the suggestion was practically the outcome of several meetings that the Medical Officer of Health and he had had with the plague inspectors, and after discussing the matter more than once they came to the cou- clusion that they would be acting wisely if they confined the disinfection of clothing and effects to the same floor as that on which a plague | Plagge. case_ccurred. Knowing as they did the way in which bubonic plague was spread, it WES very unlikely that, presuming a occurred on the first floor of a house, the
case
•
Mr. POLLOCK - I saw the other day in the papers that cats were known to have taken
405
Mr. POLLOCK said-I understand plague. inf oted fowls have been found at one of the markets.
The PRESIDEN-I am referring to this later on.
The PRESIDENT-Yes. At the Wharf and Godown Company's place last year Mr. Osborne obtained a number of cats to keep down the rats, and the cats contracted the disease.
- PLAGUE-INFECTED LOWLS - FROM THE
WISTEÉN MARKET.[/ There was laid on the table"a recommenda- tion by the Acting M. O. H. for the closing of certain stalls at the Western Market.
have
The PRESIDENT said this had reference to the discovery of plague-infected poultry in the Western Market. On 31st May one fowl was Fout from the Western Market to the públic · · mortuary and on examination by the bacterio- logist it was found to have died of plague. On 1st June a duck was sent and was found to have died of plague. On the 2nd fur ducks all from the same market and one chickon were all reported to have died of plague, and on the 3rd there was a quail which was found to b died of p'ague. He did not wish to pOBA AS an alarmist, but he thought it behoved the residents, Europeans and Chinese, to take every precaution with reference, to cooking poultry generally. The connection between rats and buman plague has not been conclusively shown. · There was a connection, but it was somewhat re- mote. One could easily understand that if the food supply became contaminated in this way with plague bacilli there was a possible dauger; and personally he thought that many of th› cases that had occurred amongst the Chinese might have been caused in this way, infection having taken place through the alimentary tract from their having eaten plague-infected poultry. He believed it was the custom for many of the Chinese to eat the entrails of fowls uncook. d.
Mr. LAU CHO PAK...No, no.
The PRESIDENT said he was informed that it was the custom. They took the entrails as- sort of relish with their rice. This being 80 it Was easily understood that if that fowl was infected the disease might be spread in that way. At any rate he knew it was a fact that the Chinese did not believe in cooking fowls as well as Europeans did. They ate fowls ha f-cooked. He had that information from a Chinaman when he was going round the experimental | blook with the Governor one Sunday. They asked the Chinaman why they could not persuade the Chinese to take chicken broth: and he told them that they did not cook their chicken but preferred to eat it half-cooked. One could easily suppose that such fowls had been sold cheaply to the lower classes of Chinese, and it was very probably the means whereby the infection was caused. He had asked Dr. Pearso to inspect the Western Market and he had himself that morning visited it with the C.V.S. I appeared that there were some basement dwellings within the precincts of the markets for which licenses had been gia.ted in years past. It was very undesirable that these dwellings should be allowed to exist. One human case of plague had occurred in one of the stalls ab ut a fortnight ago-on the 26th or 21st of May-and as a result cleansing operations were carried out, traps were laid and 99 rats were caught of which 7 were proved to be infected with plague. It therefore had occur- red to him that it would be just as well to see if any of the fowls that died in the market bad died of the disease. Orders were sent to the inspector to send in such fowls to the bacteriologist; and the result was as given. He moved that the Government be asked to withdraw the permits given to these basements and that they be not allowed to be occupied as dwellings in future. The Western Market was being dealt with by the sanitary authorities.
Mr. POLLOCK reconded.
The VICE-PRESIDENT said that some arrangements were being made for the accom- modation of these people outside the market at present, and as a temporary market was in progress it might be possible permanently to Close some of those parts which were more seriously objected to.
The motion was agreed to.
The VICE-PRESIDENT added that it should bs clearly understood that these cases of in- fected fowls were from the Western Market and not from the Central Market, from which a great deal of the food supply was drawn. --
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