Volume 3

Report of the Municipal Commissioner on the Plague in Bombay for the year ending 31st May 1899 (-31st May 1901). (Charts and Diagrams to accompany the Municipal Commissioner's Plague Report for the year ending 31st May 1900).

  • Harvey, W.L.
Date:
1899
    particular Department as I have traced cases to almost every wharf in the docks. These coolies do their day’s work and then are paid off. A man feels sick, he lies down behind a stack of wood or coal or bales of cotton, remains there, perhaps, for a couple of days. He then crawls back to one of the abovementioned boarding houses and is so bad when found that he cannot be removed, and this seems to be the almost invariable history of the cases in this particular centre. These houses have been disinfected by rooms (after cases) and repeatedly by floors but without effect, since they are constantly reinfected by imported cases. From these the epidemic spread North from end to end through Tanvadi, 41 to 45, Nesbit Road, a compound with three large single storied chawls known as the “Cudda.” Infection is supposed to be due to dead rats attracted by the filth collected by a rag and bone-merchant. Houses are inhabited by about 450 people mostly low caste Mahars employed at P. & 0. Docks and G. I. P. and 13. B. & C. 1. Workshops. These places have since been condemned as unfit for human habitation and are now being practically re-built on sanitary principles. Next, No. 8, Hyderalli’s chawls. Infection : a beggar from D. Ward who died in the compound. Then No. 12, Nawab’s compound infected by rats. Lastly, Love Lane which was a good deal more free this year than last. A good many respectable houses are in this neighbourhood and improvements in ventilation, &c\, are made since last year. Thence the epidemic attacked Bawan’s Chawls, Moorgiwalla’s Chawls, Dhakji Purbhu’s Wadi, Sussex Road, and right on to Kala-Chowki Road at the North end of the section. After this it spread about, odd cases here and there, and certain localities seeming never free, particularly the large boarding houses abovementioned. Met tag on Side.—Early in October Plague started in 14, Belvedere Road, first case im- ported from Mandvi. Then 10 cases occurred in No. 14, Stringent measures were taken, whole house vacated, and moved to Wari Bunder Camp. One case, however, escaped and spread Plague in No. 48, A ari Blinder Road. Early in January cases occurred in No. 7, Belvedere Road, No. 0, Belvedere Road, Anjirwadi, 2nd Carpenter Street Nos. 28 and 27 particularly, 14 Gurupdeo Road, Ambewadi. There were 30 deaths in this neighbourhood from Plague alone. Mien Hussonalli's Chawls and Reay Road at the end of January. Next, 1st Car- penter Street which was infected till the end of February when voluntary evacuation put a stop to it. • In February, 5 & 7, Belvedere Road, Anjirwadi, 8land 55, De Lima Street, 44, Nowgar village, IK and 1!), Nawab’s Tank Road, No. 20, Nawland Street, Ghorupdev, Tank Bunder Huts, Coliwada, Ambewadi, Haji Cassum’s Chawls until the beginning of April. 20 and 88, Church Street, Mazagon, Goanese Clubs were very bad. Infection is picked up everywhere and brought to these “clubs.” Several cases were traced and disinfected. Most of these people are bakers, tailors, fitters, and waiters in hotels. Towards the end of March, Plague broke out severely in Narielwadi village, and there were 35 deaths amongst 23 small houses and six sheds. Famine immigrants scarcely affected this ward as there was nothing to attract them. Towards the latter part of the epidemic the disease appeared to return and attack Matar- pakhadi village particularly, which till quite lately was red-hot with cases. Rate.—Dead rats were forwarded frequently to Pare! Laboratory, alive when possible. They were first noticed in 14, Belvedere Road about the 28th of September 1 DUO, and on examination found full of bacilli. Following were the noteworthy cases of houses escaping— after dead rats appeared—apparently due to disinfection:— No. 9, Muzawarpakhadi Cross Lane, Mr. Head’s bungalow.—Dead rats were found several times supposed to have come from B. I. S. N. Co.’s store-house. It was partially disinfected first time, and afterwards completely disinfected. Since then no dead rats or cases of plague have occurred.
    Mr. Mackenzie’s house, Bvenlla Saw Mills, in Victoria Road.—Dead rats found at in- tervals in servants’ quarters. Buildings were disinfected three times, and whitewashed. Rat holes were stopped with perehloride of lime at owner’s expense. No ease of Plague occurred, Mr. Anderson’s house, Port Trust Works.—Dead rats were found in servants’ quarters and kitchen. All the household were inoculated by Dr. Lamb, and the house disinfected. No case has occurred. E Ward, Byculla. P. & 0. Workshops.—Dead rats were frequently found full of Plague bacilli. Stores were emptied and the building being very large, a donkey-engine was borrowed from the Health Department to get the building completely flushed, “Cudda”, 48-45, Nesbit Road.—Donkey-engine was again borrowed and the place was thoroughly flushed ; since then no dead rats and no more cases. People were brought to Wari Bunder Camp. This district may be said to have been never quite free from plague in epidemic proportions. There was an appreciable rise in September in the number of deaths due to plague. The epidemic broke into full force in the month of February which was about six weeks later than in the previous year. In March it was at its climax and attained a height never reached before in any other epidemic, viz., in the week ending 19th March 1901, the total mortality rose to 290. After this there was a rapid decline, but the close of the year found the epidemic still raging. Last year there were roughly .300 attacks and oOO deaths less than in the year under report. The figures for plague attacks and deaths are tabulated below: — WARD—E. (BYCULLA). Section. Popula- tion. June 1900. .Tulv 1900. August 1900. September 1900. October 1900 November 1900. December 1900. Cases. Deaths. Cases. i Deaths. Cases. IT. Cw o p Cases. Deaths. | Cases. «• O « Cases. Deaths. rr. o cr c3 O Deaths. Byculla (Portion.)... Total 57,586 102 89 56 51 85 85 125 116 86 83 62 56 86 81 57,586 102 89 56 51 85 85 125 116 86 83 62 5G 86 81 Section. .January 1901. February 1901. March 1901. April 1901. May 1901. Grand Total. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. 1 Cases. i p Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Byculla (Portion.) ... Total ... 05 89 206 143 535 399 d3'l 260 181 162 1,954 1,614 1,614 95 89 206 143 535 399 335 260 181 162 1.954 Infected Areas.—During the epidemic, it was found that most of the deaths due to plague occurred in the Guzry Bazaar and the De Lisle Road.
    28 F and G Wards. Tn the last, and the present epidemic, Parel Road. and Clare Rond have remained singularly free of plague. In fact, those houses which were tenanted by the well-to-do classes were exempt this year as they were last year. But parts of Haines Road, Gilder Street and Chamar Lane were badly infected, the people here being mostly poor and their dwellings overcrowded. Topawani’s Chawl at the extreme end of Parel Road was again the only spot there that was infected, its sanitary defects being well known. Rats.—Rats were found but not to any great extent. Information concerning them was received from the better classes of the people, and in one case the District Officer has no doubt that infection was conveyed by these creatures. It should be borne in mind that in the first epidemic considerable numbers of rats used to be seen dead in the grain dealers shops in Haines Road, De Lisle Road and Guzri Bazaar. Communities Attacked.—The District Officer points out that in some instances it would appear that the onus of the introduction of plague lies in the habits of the people and cannot be attributed to their dwellings. He cites a case in which a new house in Kala Chowki Road, only partly occupied, had three cases in a fortnight in it, the tenants being people of very dirty habits. Bepr/ars.—There was no great influx of famine refugees into this district, prooably owing to the fact that there was not much money to be collected. The Hindoos here are mostly of the poorest classes. The course of the epidemic in F and G Wards is traced by Captain Boileau as follows :— Course of the Epidemic.—This district may again be said to have never been free from Plague. The last epidemic left us in May with Dharavi still affected, and 7 cases occurred in Dharavi during the month as also 4 Plague cases in Malum Bazaar. In duly 2 Plague cases were imported into Maliim from Bombay—one from Dhobi Talao and one.from a contact from Arthur Road Hospital. In Sion and Sewri in June there were 4 cases which were no doubt connected with the lingering remains of the last epidemic and nothing more occurred there until September. In r<irel (G Ward, Parel) there were 2f> eases, all the remnants of the last epidemic which did not die out until June 25tli, From that date onwards there were practically no cases in July or August, but in September Plague broke out again in 478, DeLisle Road, when between the 12th and 15th there were 7 cases. I disinfected this chawl thoroughlv in the old style, cleaned the compound and tile-turned the place. There has been no further case of plague in the chawl. The infection was brought by rats. After that no further cases occurred in any numbers until in November when between the 29th and 7th December 7 cases occurred in various parts of the District. Dadar, Maliim Bazaar, Lalwadi, Sion and Gopi Tank in Mahim showing how irregular was the course of the disease. Like last year the course of the epidemic could be traced by dying rats this year. The rats seem to have come from the South and stayed in the district, and in the same way as last year they have been chiefly instrumental in disseminating plague for the reason that wherever a crop of cases has occurred on any particular site, there dead rats have invariably been discovered and I shall, I think, be able to prove that rat infection is by far the most dangerous.
    The epidemic proper may be said to have commenced on the 26th December and from that day onwards there were only 3 days on which 1 had no report of Plague cases or deaths, F d' G, (Petrel.)—Infection was brought into F and G Ward (Parel) by rats which most probably migrated from the Southern Districts of the city ; as at the outset of the epidemic was characterized by finding plague cases and deaths simultaneously with dead rats, that is, in 604, Parel Road, 51-70 and 72, Curry Road from which the epidemic spread northwards to Suparibag Road, 79-67 and 57, and later still to Parel village, Government House, Mounted Police Lines, Governor’s Road, Elphinstone Road. Worli.—The same thing happened in Worli when the epidemic began in Haines Road and Dhobighat, whence it spread northwards up to De Lisle Road and Arthur Road into the north of the section. The disease was chiefly (almost entirely in fact) confined to the lower classes (except in the case of Goanese of which a fair number died), and communities attack- ed may be classed as follows :— ~ 1. Marathas. 2. Mochis. 3. Muhammadans and Perdesis. 4. Parsis and Brahmins, 5. Native Christians. The epidemic proper commenced in Parel in January, increased in February, reached its climax in March and declined in April to May. I cannot see that this section was affected to any appreciable extent by famine-stricken people or vagrant people as this class of people seem to wander through the section towards the heart of the City, and do not stay here in any great numbers. Worli, Malum and Dharavi.— The Worli and Maliim sections showed a clean bill of health until October when two imported cases were reported, one from Dhobi Talao to Mori Road No. 565, another from Arthur Road Hospital to Custom Road No. 478, and the first local case occurred in a tailor’s shop in Mahim Bazaar. In November 1900 only 3 Plague cases occurred in Mahim Bazaar, and then there was none up to 22nd December when Plague broke out in Purbadevi Road from when it spread all over the section. At the same time the disease attacked Worli. The infection was without doubt from rats which were found in quantities dead and dying. From Worli 1st Paeady it worked its way steadily northwards through 2nd and 3rd Paeady (its coining being regularly heralded by news of dead rats,) until it reached Worli Koliwada where it joined the Purbadevi epidemic. From Purbadevi it spread steadily northwards through Mahim Bazaar on the west and Lady Jamsetji Road on the east until it reached the confines of the district. The disease travelled very slowly and constantly harked back to localities through which it had passed and so slowly did it travel that it has only just in May reached Dharavi. This, however, is not unusual, and 1 think the year under report is very much the same as other years. The communities chiefly attacked were :— 1, Manvaries, Bunias and Marathas. 2, Panchkalsis and Kolis, 3, Parsis and Goanese. T have very little to report as most people from this section leave their houses and go into the fields when Plague breaks out amongst them. Consequently there is little reinfec- tion of localities In Sion and Sewri sections, the epidemic started with importations from Poona and Nasik in September, but it was not until February that indigenous cases made their appearance in various parts of the sections. These reached their height in March when the epidemic obtained a firm footing. In April and May the epidemic began to decline but very gradually. Communities Attached.—The disease appears to have attacked all classes alike, but most severely the lower classes of Hindoos. T nlike other parts of the district the epidemic took no regular course but broke out everywhere, Vincent Road, Matunga, Sewri and Sion and Bhoiwada all producing a large crop of cases at the same time.
    Central District. Ruts.—Dead rats were as usual found wherever a crop of Plague cases were reported. Wherever evacuation could lie carried out it was resorted to with excellent results and (as occurred in Bhoivvada Cross Road) whenever people were foolish enough to stay at home they suffered very severely for it. Re-infection of Localities.—Chawl No. 332, Bhoivada Road, was the only chawl which was re-infected, the re-infection being front dead rats. In Sion and Sewri there were scarcely any cases of plague amongst famine-stricken or vagrant people, and there was also a marked absence of the Small-pox epidemic which occur- red last year in this section. The figures for plague cases and deaths are tabulated below :— WARDS F & G. Sections. Popula- tion. June 1000. July 1000. August 1000. September 1000. October 1000. November 1000. December 1000. if % c« C Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. l Deaths. 1 Cases. ci q Parol 33,355 10 10 3 3 1 1 4 4 1 2 2 2 i Sewri 0.3.',2 5 3 ... ... 3 3 ... 1 i Sion ... 22,338 1 1 ... 1 2 1 2 2 Mahim 24,373 10 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 3 Worli 45,516 12 8 ... ... 5 1 4 2 1 1 1 Total... 134,034 56 31 4 3 2 1 14 9 8 3 4 4 12 7 Sections. January 1901* February 1001. March 1901. April 1001. Mar 1001. Grand Total. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. G{. C* c Paiel 22 16 118 76 413 294 212 159 67 53 864 610 Sewri 7 4 38 32 165 140 161 132 80 70 460 385 Sion ... 3 3 0 8 43 38 41 32 35 28 137 113 Mahim 17 6 88 39 270 115 265 115 78 35 757 324 Worli 10 8 66 45 205 234 109 163 74 67 667 529 Total... r,o 37 310 200 1,195 821 878- 601 334 253 2,885 1,970 The Chu/cla, Umerkhadi and Byculla sections of this district were almost clear of plague from June to August 1900. Bhuleshwar, Khara Talao and 2nd Ncigpadci sections were on the other hand continually infected. With the exception of Chukla there was a general monsoon recrudescence of plague throughout the district during which time Khara Talao and Bhuleshwar suffered most. The first signs of the epidemic were noticed in cases and deaths occurring in Ali Umar Street and Goghari Molialla in Bhuleshwar and in Mahomed Khan Pakhadi in Umarkhadi. Mahomed Khan Pakhadi is notorious as the starting point for the epidemic, ever since the com- mencement of plague in this section.