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HossACK (W. C). Report on a visit to various European Ports 

 in Reference to Existing Quarantine and Sanitary Arrangements 

 and the Measures Proposed against the Introduction of Yellow 

 Fever into India. — Ind. Jl. Med. Research, Calcutta, ii, no. 3, 

 January 1915, pp. 791-813. 



The author, under instructions from the Government of India, visited 

 a mimber of European ports with the main object of ascertaining: 



(1) The general trend of opinion as regards quarantine and other 

 methods for the prevention of the importation of disease by sea. 



(2) The limitations and shortcomings of the Clayton process of fumiga- 

 tion by SO 2, the advantages and disadvantages of rival methods and 

 the possibiHty of applying other gases than the two generally used, 

 SOo and CO. (3) Methods of inspection of food imports. (4) Regulation 

 of the construction of ships. (5) The advisability of changes in the 

 administration of the maritime sanitary service. 



The above points were considered in connection with the proposals 

 for the establishment of a sanitary station at Diamond Harbour, 

 specially fitted to deal with ships infected with yellow fever. The 

 . Clayton process of fumigation for the extinction of fire and the 

 destruction of insects and vermin is now in universal use all over 

 the world. Briefly, it consists of an apparatus in which sulphur 

 is burnt to produce sulphur-dioxide (S0„) gas of a fixed and 

 regulated strength and a fan to propel the gas into the hold or 

 other space to be disinfected. Its advantages are that it kills 

 rats, fleas, mosquitos, cockroaches and bugs, that it is cheap in 

 its application and in practice is not dangerous to human life ; an 

 exposure to 3 per cent, sulphur-dioxide for 8 to 12 hours with the 

 hatches closed till next day, kills the germs of disease. It is the 

 most reliable process for the destruction of mosquitos possibly 

 infected with yellow fever; but it has disadvantages, which may 

 be briefly summarised as follows. There are grave difficulties in 

 its application to the hold of a ship full of cargo. With certain 

 articles of cargo, such as baled jute or baled cotton, even where 

 there is penetration of the gas, there is an enormous amount of absorp- 

 tion. It has been proved that a bale of cotton or jute will require for 

 saturation, 100 times its bulk of Clayton gas, 10 per cent. The result 

 is that gas to the extent of several times the bulk of the ship may be 

 injected and yet the deeper recesses of the hold may never be reached, 

 as the gas is absorbed as it is injected. In addition there is the 

 mechanical difiiculty of penetrating a tightly packed cargo. Moreover 

 there are certain classes of goods which are irretrievably damaged by 

 fumigation by SO3, e.g., food-stuffs, such as wheat, potatoes, flour, fruits 

 and meat. Grain, thoroughly treated, will hardly germinate at all and 

 yields a flour that will not make edible bread. Though there is a 

 large trade of Indian wheat for England, which comes as part cargo 

 with oil seeds for France, and these cargoes are habitually fumigated 

 in French ports, no questions have been raised as to damage done. 

 In view of the experiments of the Local Government Board, the 

 explanation of the lack of complaint must be the inefficiency of 

 penetration or the fact that fumigation is not thoroughly carried out. 

 It seems certain that numerous living rats are found in London in 

 ships that have been recently fumigated. The disadvantages are so 



