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8
NUMBER OF NOTIFICATIONS (SURVEILLANCE) DURING 1919.
Passengers 110
Crew 40
Stevedores, &c. ...
Number of Notifications received from Practitioners 116

PLAGUE.
The s.s. "Japan" arrived from Bombay on the 28th January, 1919, with a
crew of 154, 52 passengers and a passenger crew of 193 natives. The ship left
Bombay on 2nd January, and on 6th January four natives were taken ill; two of these
with enlarged femoral glands were landed at Suez on the 12th, two died on board
after a few hours' illness from "Malignant Malaria"; one of these had "Parotitis."
On the 13th January a native fireman, who was stated to have been ill for four days
with diarrhoea and vomiting, died. On the 14th another native coal trimmer died.
The latter had not been reported sick, but was stated to have had three loose motions
before death. Four more natives had similar symptoms, and were landed at Port
Said, being regarded as suspected Cholera.
The cases of "Parotitis" and Malignant Malaria, in conjunction with the cases
of illness presenting "femoral" buboes, appeared to be significant of Pestis outbreak
about 6th January.
Your Boarding Medical Officer, Dr. Kidd, considered the history to be one of
Plague, not Cholera. Your Medical Officer immediately inspected the ship and
concurred in this diagnosis, finding no evidence of Cholera in the detailed histories
of the cases, but much that made Plague a practical certainty.
One native who was ill on arrival was removed to Denton Hospital on the
28th January for observation, but his illness proved uneventful.
The vessel was treated as if rat infected with Plague; cargo was discharged while
in the quarantine ground at Gravesend. The water tanks were also emptied and
cleansed.
During the course of enquiry it was ascertained that the ship's cat had been
observed to be sick about the 18th January, having a swelling under the neck which
broke down into pus, after which the cat recovered. (A similar cat history was
obtained on s.s. "Somali" in a Plague infection on that ship.)
On enquiry amongst the natives it was ascertained that at Port Said, in shifting
food stores, ten dead rats were found in the native food storeroom, and dead rats
were also found under the steam pipes forward. The food store was situated under
and communicated with the starboard forecastle quarters. The four cases on which
the ship was suspected of Plague were berthed on this side of the forecastle. The
rats were thrown overboard without any report being made to responsible officers.
During discharge of cargo at Gravesend, sixteen dead rats and several dead mice
were found. All were much decomposed or dried up.
No case of Plague was found in the few rats caught and examined. Fumigation
of the whole of the ship was carried out at Gravesend on the 12th and 13th February.
The total number of rats found after fumigation was 31.