CHAPTER II 



ASIATIC CHOLERA 



A SI AT 1C cholera has its permanent home in In- 

 *~* dia, and especially in the thickly populated region 

 occupied by the delta of the Ganges, the principal 

 city of which is Calcutta. Here it prevails through- 

 out the year, with a period of maximum intensity 

 in the hot and comparatively dry month of April. 

 Heavy rains have a salutary sanitary influence in this 

 and other regions where the disease is prevalent. 

 From the infected area referred to, the disease 

 spreads almost annually to other parts of India and 

 neighbouring Asiatic countries, and at intervals has 

 extended its ravages to Africa, Europe, and America. 

 These widespread epidemics are, however, of com- 

 paratively recent origin. 



After a devastating epidemic in India during the 

 years 1816 to 1819 the disease extended to Mauritius 

 and the east coast of Africa, to Farther India and the 

 islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, and to China. 



no 



