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29
The existence of Plague amongst the rats being thus established, I
called on the Managers of the London and India Docks Company and
related to them the facts, and also explained to them the seriousness of the
situation, not only as affecting the public health, but also as regards the trade
interests of the Port of London. This they fully realised, and immediately
gave instructions for their staff in the dock to co-operate with me in every
possible way.
Dr. Willoughby and Inspector Romeril were specially detailed to carry out
my instructions.
A search party was organised, under the charge of a foreman, to make a
thorough and systematic search in every basement and warehouse on the
North Quay. This was to be carried out twice a day, any dead rats found
to be taken up with tongs and placed in a bucket of disinfecting solution and
finally burnt in a furnace.
The contents of the basements were to be arranged in a more orderly
manner so as to facilitate the work of the search party, and large quantities of
useless rubbish, the accumulation of many years, were taken away and burnt,
in all about 48½ tons.
These warehouses are very solidly built and of some age, consisting of four
floors with basements containing several cellars, in which a quantity of timber
and other material was stored. Each basement opens on to the quay by
means of an area covered at the top with a grating, but there were ample
facilities for rats to enter the warehouses through these areas. A roadway
was at the back, and next to this were railway lines, and fortunately, some
distance existed at the back between the warehouses and the nearest dwellinghouses.
As far as possible the same men were retained for this work ; their names
and addresses were furnished to me, and, in the event of any man being
absent, I was either furnished with a medical certificate as to the cause of his
absence, or Dr. Willoughby personally visited the man and satisfied himself
that the man was not suffering from any symptom of Plague.
Your Medical Officer of Health, in conjunction with Dr. Willoughby,
conducted post-mortem examinations on the bodies of dead rats which
had been found, and several of them presented to the naked eye appearances
of having died of Plague, whilst Professor Klein examined 13 rats with the
following results:—