Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 55.djvu/608

588 came to England left Bombay about the end of August, 1896. There was at that time no official knowledge of the existence of the plague in Bombay, but it probably existed there. This is another evidence of the fallacy of the belief in the ten days' period of incubation. It seems quite evident to me that the English authorities lay too much stress upon the period of incubation. A man leaving Bombay or any other infected port may carry the bacillus under his finger nails, elsewhere on his person, or in his clothing, and may not become infected until many days after leaving the infected place. Careful inspection and thorough disinfection of all vessels coming from infected ports should be insisted upon. It has been abundantly demonstrated by the history of the plague, as well as that of other infectious diseases, that the old plan of detention in quarantine is a relic of bygone times. Detention is cruel, dangerous, and inefficient; inspection and disinfection are rational and efficacious.

The modes of infection with the bacillus of the plague are as follows: (1) By inoculation. The history of the present epidemic in Asia recounts several instances of inoculation with the plague bacillus. On June 22 or 23, 1896, while making a post-mortem examination. Professor Ayoama, of Tokio, one of the Japanese commissioners sent to Hong Kong to study the plague, scratched the third finger on his left hand; on June 27th he again scratched himself on the end of the right thumb; on the evening of June 28th he felt ill, and had a temperature of 101.6° F.; he slept well during that night, but during the afternoon of June 29th he had a temperature of 105° F. At that time a bubo was found in the left axilla, and there was well-marked lymphangitis of the right arm. Professor Ayoama has described his own case as follows: "On June 28th, after having finished a dissection, I took my meal about half past two and did not enjoy it. After the meal I went upstairs, when at certain movements of the arm I felt a slight pain in the left armpit, and on feeling with my finger I found some slightly enlarged glands present. In the evening I felt very ill, depressed, and languid, burning hot along the whole of the back, while the thermometer showed normal temperature. As Mr. Kitasato and I had invited guests that evening, I was present at supper. I had no appetite, and felt so languid that I often wished to withdraw. At half past eleven I hurried to my room, when I found my temperature was 39° C. I took one gramme of quinine, and slept well. Next morning I awoke and noticed, on the under side of the left ring finger, a small, whitish-yellow blister, and then, along the back of the hand, a red line. From this time I remembered nothing for more than two weeks."