﻿10 The Philippine Journal of Science 1914 



9,000 per month, but the percentage of infected rats found up 

 to November was only 0.005, which is unusually low. According 

 to many authorities, a 2 per cent rat-plague infection is con- 

 sidered a low average. At Hongkong, for instance, it has been 

 reported that 7 per cent of the rats examined prove to be plague 

 infected. 



PLAGUE AMONG OTHER ANIMALS 



On November 26, 1912, five dead rats were reported from the 

 United States Army Commissary warehouse, which is located on 

 the Pasig River near Malecon Drive and is on the south side of 

 the Pasig River. All infections heretofore had occurred on the 

 north side of the river. Unfortunately the rats were thrown 

 into the river and, therefore, the causes of their death could 

 not be ascertained. 



On November 27, a cat known to have caught and eaten rats 

 in this Commissary warehouse was reported to be sick and was 

 taken to the Bureau of Science, where it was observed for a 

 period of three days, at the end of which time it died. At the 

 necropsy, typical bubonic cervical plague glands were found, and 

 inoculations made into guinea pigs from material from the spleen 

 and buboes produced typical plague in the guinea pigs. A guinea 

 pig that was inoculated by a swab introduced into the cat's 

 rectum also died from plague. 



Eighty rats were caught in this and adjacent warehouses, but 

 none of them showed any evidence of plague. 



On December 17, a woman died of plague at 4 Calle Barraca. 

 Two hours later. Doctor Jackson, the medical officer in charge 

 of the antiplague measures in Manila, and Doctor Schobl, the 

 laboratory representative of the Bureau of Science, placed 2 

 healthy guinea pigs free from plague in a wire cage upon the 

 petate (mat) which was located on the floor and on which the 

 woman slept, and left them there for one day; the routine^ 

 insecticidal measures were delayed until after the guinea pigs 

 had been removed. On December 21, one of the guinea pigs 

 died from typical bubonic plague, the diagnosis being fully con- 

 firmed by inoculations into other animals. The guinea pigs were 

 carefully searched for fleas, but none could be found. Guinea 

 pigs under similar circumstances were placed in two other 

 houses in which plague had occurred, but after the disinfecting 

 and insecticidal measures had been completed. In neither case 

 did plague result in the guinea pigs, which would indicate again 

 that the sanitary measures employed were effective. 



