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under the direction of Professor Hewlett. Assistant Eat Officers collect rats from
ships and shore premises in their district each day. They tie to one leg of each rat
a small label, on which is a letter combination indicating the Dock where the rat was
obtained (thus R.A.D. indicates Royal Albert Dock, S.C.D. Surrey Commercial
Dock, &c.) and a number. In their daily report sheets the Assistant Rat Officers enter
each letter-number combination, with notes opposite showing exactly where and how
each rat was obtained. They then place the rats in a linen bag, which they put in
a tin box. At the end of the day they deliver the tin boxes at the laboratory of the
Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich, and receive in exchange empty bags and boxes for
the next day's rats. Rats are delivered about 5 p.m., and examined next morning.
If any rats were found Plague-infected, the letters and number on the label attached
would be telephoned to your Medical Officer, who, on reference to the Assistant
Rat Officer's reports, could at once ascertain exactly where such rats were obtained
and institute Plague preventive measures there. If rats are found dead under
circumstances suggesting that they have died of Plague, they are taken at once to the
laboratory, and an immediate examination and report is requested.
The rats from Tilbury Dock are sent by train from Gravesend to Greenwich,
where they are collected each morning by one of the Staff and taken to the laboratory.
It is not found possible to dip the rats on the Docks in a flea-killing solution,
but it has been arranged that the bags containing the rats should be dipped in kerosine
at the laboratory. The bags returned empty to the Assistant Rat Officers are therefore
saturated in kerosine, which is sufficient to destroy the fleas on the subsequent batches
of rats placed in the bags.
Arrangements made for other Bacteriological and Pathological Examinations.
All bacteriological and pathological examinations are carried out at the laboratories
of the Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich.
Arrangements for the diagnosis and treatment of Venereal Diseases among
Sailors, under International arrangements.
The Venereal Diseases are not compulsorily notifiable, but efforts are made to
bring to the notice of all seamen in the Port the facilities for free treatment under
the Brussels Agreement.
When the Medical Officers board ships on arrival they always enquire whether
there are any cases of Venereal Disease on board, and if any are reported they
endeavour to see the infected men to point out to them the importance of obtaining
skilled treatment as soon as possible and to acquaint them with the situation of the
clinic nearest the ship's berth and the times at which cases may attend.
The Port Sanitary Authority have printed the following notice in English, French,
German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese,
Greek, Latvian, Estonian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Hindustani, Bengali, Marathi
and Gujarati.
The translations were kindly undertaken by the Consuls of the various countries,
and the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company generously printed, in
Bombay, the notices for Indian seamen.
VENEREAL DISEASES.
Syphilis (Pox) and Gonorrhoea (Clap) can be cured by skilful treatment in the
early stages. If treatment is neglected or unskilful these diseases become difficult to
cure and there is grave risk of years of ill-health and premature death to the sufferer
and of the spread of infection to others.