﻿IX, B, 1 Reiser: Plague in the Philippines 9 



houses (godowns) were galvanized iron buildings with a dirt 

 floor, on sections of which a board floor had been constructed. 

 Numerous rat runs were found that led under the boards, and 

 upon these floors being removed rat nests and a number of dead 

 rats were found. The rats were mummified, rendering it im- 

 practicable definitely to ascertain the cause of their death. It is 

 customary in the Philippines for laborers to go barefooted and 

 barelegged as far as the knee, and as these employees were no 

 exception there was ample opportunity for fleas to bite them on 

 their lower extremities. 



From October 22 until October 31 there were 8 additional cases 

 traceable to the warehouse, and then the outbreak stopped as 

 suddenly as it began. The preliminary sanitary measures were 

 completed by October 25, and as there were no further cases after 

 the incubation period had expired it seems fair to assume that 

 the sanitary measures were completely effective. 



The control of this explosive outbreak probably furnished as 

 good an example of the effectiveness of modern sanitary measures 

 against plague as can be found in the literature of the disease. 

 As there were several hundred laborers employed in these freight 

 warehouses, there is every reason to believe that large numbers 

 of additional cases would have occurred if the proper steps had 

 not been promptly taken to eliminate the infection. 



PLAGUE AMONG RATS 



Upon the discovery of the first case of human plague on June 

 17, a careful investigation was again made, but no history of 

 any unusual mortality among rats could be elicited. Immediate 

 steps were taken to catch rats in the sections of the city in 

 which the victim had worked and where he had lived. This 

 work was very actively carried out, but it was not until August 

 31 and until over 7,000 rats had been caught that a plague rat 

 was detected. This rat was caught in a spring trap at 351 Calle 

 San Sebastian, which is in the block in which the human case 

 on Calle Villalobos had occurred during the first week in August. 

 On September 7, a plague rat was found at 104 Calle Santa Rosa 

 and another at 215 Calle Echague, both of which addresses are 

 within a block of the case that occurred on Calle Villalobos. 

 On October 4, a plague rat was found at 644 Calle Ilaya and 

 another at 637 Avenida Rizal, which are sections far removed 

 from where either human or rat plague had occurred heretofore. 

 During the early part of October, the rat-catching efforts were 

 increased and rats were caught at the rate of approximately 



