CHAPTER III 



ANALYSIS OF PLAGUE MATERIALS 



Since Oriental plague, which appeared in Hong-Kong 

 1894, in India 1896, had become pandemic, amongst the 

 many ships — passenger and cargo — constantly arriving at 

 English ports, there must be, as a matter of course, always 

 a considerable number which have started from one or 

 another plague-infected country — India, the Argentine, the 

 Levant, Egypt, and China ; it therefore behoves all port 

 sanitary officers to be continually on the alert, both as 

 regards possible infection of the crew as also of the cargo 

 and rats of such vessels. While in several instances such 

 ships have, on arrival, been found to have had on their 

 voyage cases of plague in man or in rats, or in both ; 

 others were, according to the captain's statement, free 

 of suspicious illness both in man and the rat, but 

 on closer inspection were found to harbour one or 

 other of the crew affected with inguinal bubo ; further, 

 ships which have started from an infected locality, 

 although free of suspicious illness on the voyage, have, 

 soon after arrival into a port, been found to harbour 

 one or other of the crew affected with, or rather 

 developing, suspicious illness ; in a further set of ships 

 coming from infected localities the presence of dead 



