VIII. B, 2 Heiser: Plague in Manila during 1912 \W 



region. There were both inguinal and femoral buboes. The 

 condition of the patient became rapidly worse, and he died at 

 7 o'clock on the morning of the eighth day of his illness. 



At necropsy, the glands of the right axilla and those of the 

 right side of the neck were found considerably enlarged, and 

 the lymphatic system generally showed enlargements. There 

 was consolidation of the lower lobe of the right lung; the spleen 

 was about twice the normal size. In general, the necropsy 

 findings of a typical case of septicemic plague were present. 

 Smears made from the spleen and right axillary glands showed 

 enormous numbers of typical bipolar-staining organisms. Cul- 

 tures and fresh pieces of tissue, after animal inoculation had 

 been made therefrom, were reported upon by the Bureau of 

 Science as positive for plague. 



HUMAN PLAGUE IN MANILA 



On June 19, a Filipino employed as a watchman at 236 Calle 

 San Jacinto, which is in the Chinese district, and who resided 

 at 920 Calle Antonio Rivera, was found dead at his home, after 

 an illness of about three days. On post-mortem examination, 

 typical plague buboes were found in the right groin and axilla. 

 Smears made from the spleen showed Gram-negative, bipolar- 

 staining organisms, and inoculations made into guinea pigs 

 resulted in typical attacks of plague. Rat catchings have been 

 made regularly, at weekly intervals, in Manila, since the last 

 cases of plague among rats, in 1906, and dead rats in which 

 the cause of death was not obvious were sent to the laboratory, 

 but no plague rats had been found since that time. The victim 

 was a permanent resident of Manila, and had not been away 

 from the city in many months. He lived far from the water 

 front, did not associate with persons who had been out of the 

 city, and since, so far as known, the nearest focus of the disease 

 was Hongkong, the source of this infection is most difficult to 

 explain. 



The next case occurred on June 26 in a Filipina woman who 

 lived at 1615 Calle Azcarraga, near the Arranque market. She 

 was found alive, having been ill for three days, and, at the time 

 she was transferred to the San Lazaro Plague Hospital, had a 

 temperature of 41° C, and was in a moribund condition. The 

 necropsy showed slightly enlarged glands of the left groin, but 

 the other usual necropsy findings of plague were conspicuous 

 by their absence. Smear preparations made from the glands of 

 the groin and from sections of the spleen showed Gram-negative 

 bipolar-staining organisms, and the subsequent biological exami- 



