Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 55.djvu/606

586 with custom-house examinations, in order to prevent unnecessary delay in travel. Passenger trains and postal cars are not to be detained at any frontier, but if a car be found to contain a real or a suspected case of the plague, this car shall be detached from the train at the frontier or at the nearest station thereto and its contents disinfected.

(3) Travelers coming from infected countries may be, at the discretion of the sanitary authorities, detained under observation for a period not exceeding eight days. Individual governments are allowed to take any special measures that may be deemed wise against the importation of the disease by means of gypsies, vagrants, and immigrants.

In formulating the above-mentioned rules to prevent the importation of the plague into Europe the members of the Venice Congress seem to have been thoroughly convinced that the longest period of incubation possible in this disease is ten days. It seems to have been assumed that if a vessel had been for ten days or longer at sea after departure from an infected port, and no cases of the plague had developed up to that time, there could be no danger of this vessel carrying the infection. It appears to me that a safer course would have been to require inspection of all persons and things going on board a vessel leaving an infected port, and the thorough disinfection of certain things, at least, on such vessels arriving at uninfected ports. The disinfection of a ship and its cargo by means of steam is not at present a very costly procedure.

Since the plague, if it reaches America at all, must come to us by sea, it may be of special interest to inquire concerning outbreaks of this disease on board ship. In making this inquiry we will confine ourselves to such cases as have occurred within the past two years. In March, 1897 (I have been unable to ascertain the exact date), the transport Dilwara left Bombay, bound for Southampton, with a regiment of English soldiers, together with their wives and children. On March 18th, while the vessel was in the Red Sea, a child died of the plague and was buried at sea. On arriving at Suez the persons who had been in immediate contact with the child were transferred to the Wells of Moses and properly disinfected. After this had been done, the vessel was allowed to pass through the Suez Canal in quarantine. No fresh case occurred, and the vessel arrived at Southampton April 6th. Here all articles which might possibly contain infection were disinfected, the passengers were allowed to go to their homes, and the troops were placed in barracks. No other cases resulted.

On July 6, 1807, one of the crew of the Carthage, of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's line, was attacked with the plague.