View report page

25
the Straits Settlements, Siam, also in French Indo-China. It was very
prevalent in China, especially in Canton and Swatow, and a few cases occurred
in Hong Kong and Formosa. Plague prevailed in Japan at Kobe, Yokohama
and Tokio.
A few cases occurred in Australia, more especially at Sydney and Newcastle.
In South America the disease existed, especinlly in Brazil, Uruguay, Chili,
Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador, and a few cases at Trinidad, Port of Spain.
Cases occurred in Egypt, British East Africa, German East Africa, Zanzibar,
Mauritius, and also in the Azores Islands.
Of the four cases referred to iu Table VIII., one only was removed to the
Port Sanitary Hospital, the others being removed to foreign hospitals.
There were no incidents of interest or importance in relation to any of these
cases.

RAT-PLAGUE.
On November 11th, 1909, the Sanitary Inspector in charge of the district
reported that seven dead rats had been discovered at No. 19 Warehouse,
South-West India Dock Import Department.
I visited the locality and ascertained that these dead rats had been found
underneath some pieces of wood. They were more or less decomposed, but
one had died more recently, say, within a week.
The facts were reported to the Local Government Board, and the rats were
sent to Professor Klein for bacterioscopic examination.
He reported, as a result of his experiments, &c., that the only rat which
was in a sufficient state of good preservation, had died from plague.
The whole Dock has been kept under observation, and thoroughly searched,
but no further dead rats have been found.