‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1899/1900’ [‎282v] (38/150)

30 ADMINISTEATION EE PORT ON THE PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. POLITICAL
who wore very regular in reporting symptoms as they developed and who were the only t W o
communities capable of appreciating in an intelligent manner the value of our treatment, for in
the case of the majority of the other persons who were treated no intimation whatever of the
progress of the disease was received after the issue of the first dose or doses of medicine. If
we, therefore, restrict our calculation to the result obtained among the Khojas and Hindus
only, we find that there were only 7 deaths among the 31 persons that received treatm ant
giving 1 a ratio of 22-6 per cent, of deaths to treated, whilst among the others that were treated
there was a death-rate of 48 per cent., nearly equal to the general death-rate (507 per cent.)
and only slightly less than the death-rate (52 per cent.) among the persons that were not
treated. Exception, however, may be taken to tlie result among the Hindus being included
in the comparison on the ground cf the smallness of the number of the cases among them and
the fact of their having been the last two cases in the epidemic, but even if we exclude them
from this calculation we have still the highly favourable result of 7 deaths among the 29
Khojas that were treated, that is to say, a ratio per cent, of 34' 1 deaths to treated.
When the disease began to assume epidemic proportions, I advised strongly the takino-
Prophylactic treatment. of a dose (m. xx) of dilute sulphuric acid in an
4. 4. 4.w -41,r ei °" n . ce ,. 1 ^ ater eve 'y mornir 'g:' a ad it is gratifying
to not now that with the exception of two Khoja children in the Khoja f ^rt, none of those
who followed this advice suffered fiom the disease, though it must be stated that the maioritv
of them at least in Maskat were not directly exposed to infection. The members of the
menial establishment of the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. 's Office, who were all given a dose of sulphuric
acid every morning were, however, differently situated, many of them havino-had cases of
cholera in their houses or in their immediate neighbourhood, and although they were thus
directly exposed to infection, they all escaped; but their number is too small for the result
of the prophylactic treatment among them to be considered of any importance as a test of its
value. The other prophylactic measures that were strongly recommended were the boilintr
of all water for domestic purposes, and the addition, if practicable, of a littla solution of
permanganate of potash to it.
Soon after the appearance of the epidemic it began to manifest its influence on the general
, population by causing an unusual prevalence of
Cholerine or premonitory diarrhoea. diarrhoea. ^ idea can be formed even approxi-
,, i i • j i, i "i. i. xi x- m i atel 7 of number of such cases as no informa
tion could be obtained about it at the time, the people generally looking upon it as a trifling
affection and falling to realize the danger of its proving to be a precursory symptom of!
much graver disease. There can however, he no douht that some of these cases cventuallv
developed symptoms of true cholera, though from the return of such oases as applied for
treatment in Matrah, their proportion appears to be small. Out of 77 cases of dia,rl TO a that
were treated m Matrah only 10 subsequently developed true cholera with one death The
number of oases treated in Maskat was 24. The treatment of these cases consisted'in the
administration of astringent powders composed of Pnlv. Oatechu Co. and Bismuth album •
and m only a few mstancee after the failure of these powders to oheol: the diarrhcea it was
necessary to give a dose or two of Pil. Plumb, c. opio. aiai rDcea, it was
When cholera first broke out in Gwadur and threatened to invade Maskat, repeated and
t , ^ . urgent representations were made to the local
Preventive and sanitary measures. authorities with a view, to the re-imposition of
xr t,* i' quarantine on vessels arrivino* from that oort; And
Karachi, as a preventive measure, but the seriousness of the situation wa? then evidentlv not
sufficiently realized. Similarly when the disease first broke out in the Jabnt quarter of Matrah
tTtlTteea e 8 r It W ' 50 I that r me!,SUreS Wl ' atever were taken prevent the sptad-
invade Maskat tha^' the first Rfer!^ f " aSsumed epWemic proportions and threatened to
mv recommendaftinn A a tl? Awards any measures likely to eradicate it was taken at
the b X cM ouartr of wtLh V ?K f^i . ori f" all y confined to the suburb of Jabru and
the oamcm quartei of Matrah, both of which localities were supplied with drinkin^ water
iXtiorlnd I The ef ^ P re ! u "P'' 011 , . wa8 great that the water was the source of
potash This reoommand I-' the ^'nfection of the well with permanganate of
potash. 1 his recommendation had to be extended to all the wells in Matrah and Maskat
ra&fdL to lutTa^oTJrT 8 ' t0r b J^ e 'rV Wa8 — d into " ^
extentlecl to all the parts of the town and had also broken out in Maskat.
people brinp^n^it^f* 6 ^^ 611 ^ 6 ^ ^ " lter ^ 01 t ^ ere wa s great danger of caravans and other
recommendation 1 „ g and causing fresh centres of infection, to ward off which, at my
my advice to the personal disinf V e " f 0r ) of its impracticability, I confined