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6.—That Medical Practitioners in Saint Pancras be informed that a list
of London medical men who have had experience in the clinical
diagnosis of Plague is kept in the Health Department, and that
arrangements have been made for clinical diagnosis in cases of
suspected Plague at the cost of the Sanitary Authority.
7.—That Medical Practitioners in Saint Pancras be informed that
arrangements will be made for bacteriological diagnosis in cases of
suspected Plague at the cost of the Sanitary Authority.
8.—That Medical Practitioners in Saint Pancras be informed that any
sick person that may be suspected of suffering from symptoms of
Plague should be kept under treatment in the suspected room, the
suspected house and attendants upon the sick should be strictly
isolated, and the apparently healthy inmates of the house should be
treated as "contacts," and be removed to a Reception House, to be
kept under observation for at least ten days.
9.—That Medical Practitioners in Saint Pancras be informed that the
Family Shelter would be temporarily set apart as a Reception House
for "contacts" until arrangement for further premises could be
made.
10.—That all bedding, clothing, and other stuff articles suspected of being
infected with Plague be burnt in the incinerator, and that the
Owners be compensated.
11.—That the whole of any house suspected of being infected with Plague
be thoroughly fumigated, stripped, cleansed, and otherwise disinfected
to the satisfaction of the Medical Officer of Health.
Clinical Diagnosis.-Symptoms of Plague.
The Medical Officer of the Local Government Board, by circular dated
September, 1900, describes the symptoms of Plague as follows :—
An ordinary attack of Plague usually begins some three to five days after
exposure to infection. Such attack may develop gradually, but as commonly
met with, there is sudden onset with much fever, as indicated by a high
temperature, rapid pulse, headache, hot skin, and thirst. The eyes are
injected as if inflamed; the expression, at first anxious and frightened, becomes
subsequently vacant and dull; the utterance is thick, and the gait unsteady
as in one under the influence of drink. There is at times a distinct tendency
to faint. The tongue is at first covered with a moist white fur, except at the
edges, which are red, but later on it becomes dry, and of a mahogany colour.
The most distinctive sign of Plague is the presence of swellings, or
"buboes," as they are called, in the groin, armpit, or neck. These "buboes,"
which led to the disease being called "Bubonic Plague," and which have no
relation to venereal complaints, appear as a rule about the second or third day
of the disease. They are usually painful and tender on pressure, and in size
they vary from that of an almond to that of an orange. Later on they may
"gather" and burst like an ordinary abscess. There may, too, appear about
the body purple spots, and what are known as "carbuncles."