'ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1908-1909' [‎74v] (10/132)

ULl
ir
BOMBAY ADMINISTEATION EEPOKT.
Usos-u^
4. Plague showed a considerable decrease during the year ending 3lst
May 1909, the comparative figures being :
Cases. Deaths.
1908-1909 - - 46 ’ 7 J 33 >' i42
1907-1908 — 106,9 113,492
The months of June and July were the period of lowest mortality. h
the former month 787 cases and 684 deaths were reported, and in the latter
795 cases and 564 deaths. A rise began during August and the maximum
was reached in October when 7,46-5 cases and 5,121 deaths were recorded. ^
improvement set in in November (cases 4,944, deaths 3,520) and continued
to January (cases 3,406, deaths 2,437). The figures again rose in February
(cases 3,893, deaths 2,690) and March (cases o,681, deaths 4,31 o). The us Ua [
decline was apparent in the last two months of the year, the figures falling fro m
3,929 cases and 3,288 deaths in April to 1,863 cases and 1,639 deaths in May.
In Bombay City the disease was prevalent throughout the year, but was
most active between the months of March to May, reaching a maximum in
April (cases 2,010, deaths 1,796). During the same months plague became
epidemic in Karachi, where it was present throughout the year and resulted
in a total of 2,132 cases and 2,049 deaths.
Aden remained free from the disease during the year.
The districts and agencies which were severely affected comprised Kaira,
Poona, Sholapur, Satara, sBelgaum, Dharwar, Kathiawar, Kolhapur and the
Southern Maratha Country States. The Panch Mahals, Broach, Khandesh
(East and West), Bijapnr, Kanara, all districts of Sind (except Karachi), the
Bewa Kdntha Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and the states of Khairpur, Janjira, Cambay, Savantvadi,
Akalkot, Bhor and Savannr remained almost free from the disease.
Among Europeans 7 cases of plague and 2 deaths occurred in Bombay
City, and 11 cases with 4 deaths in the mofussil.
Under the Paris Sanitary Convention ^Regulations medical inspection in
the case of vessels bound for foreign ports was continued ou the same lines as
in the preceding year; but the inspection was abolished in respect of vessels
sailing from the ports of Bombay and Karachi to all other ports in India.
Measures directed against the spread of plague included rat-killing
operations in 7 districts and the partial evaoution of infected areas iu 10 districts
and in Bombay and Karachi. But the most noticeable feature in the
development of preventive measures during the year was the gradually increasing
resort to inoculation. A special staff of inoculators was placed by
Government under the orders of the Sanitary Commissioner. In order to
popularize the measure the scheme of granting money rewards to low-paid
Government servants was continued as an inducement towards the inoculation
Wives . anc [ c k^ r f n * I 11 Boona City the efforts of Government and
e i unioipality in carrying out plague measures were supplemented by the
oona Plague Relief Committee under the Honourable Mr. G. K. Gokhaie, CiA
as c airman; and the thanks of Government were conveyed to the members
or their special attention to the work of popularizing inoculation amongst the
people by securing their co-operation, by enlisting the active sympathy of the
in P rc 5 ess ^ 0ri anc ^ by educating public opinion in a systematic manner*
addltlon t0 S lvin S wide publicity to the inoculation results obtained by the