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Show CONQUERING' BUBONIC B PLAGUE IN THE " H . PHILIPPINES B Discovery last sumiuer of n nutn- IB ber of Isolated cases of thu bubonic h pluguo In tho United States lends In- HB tcrest to thu following communication, H to tho Natlouul Geographic society,. H describing how the dlseaso wus con- H qucrcd by American tuedlca! author H I ties In the I'hlllpplnerf. H "Tho United States drove thu bu- H bonlc pluguo out of tho I'hlllpplnes- H ns completely as It swept the yel- H low fover out of , Cuba., H "lluboutu plague wus 'discovered at H Manila December o, 1800, und slowly H but steadily Increased up to Decern, H ber, 1001. Tho dcuths In 1(HH) nutn- HH bcred 100, und In 1001 reached u H total of 432, The disease wna, at its H worst euch year during tho hot, dry months of Mnrch, April,- nnd May, H nearly or quite disappearing during H September, October, Nove;uber, nnd H December. It will bo ndted that the H number of casos Jn 1001 exceeded that H In' 1000 by 200,'whllo thu number of 1 deaths was 'about two' and a halt H times ns great, nnd tho percentage H of mortality among persons attacked H .Increased froni 73.4 In 1000 to 01,7 M In 1001. H "On nccount of tho fiiiportant part which house rats nro known to play H In tho distribution of bubonic plague, M a sysleiniitlc campaign wus Inatigu- H ruled ngulnst these rodents In Manila. M I'ollcenien, sanitary Inspectors, nnd H speclully npp6lncd rat-cichcrs wero H furnished wjth trqpn und poison, and M both (raps and poison wore dlstrlhut- U ed to private Individuals under proper sH restrictions. A bounty Was paid for H all rats turned over' to tho, health an- H thorltloi, and stations wore estuh- -nl ,llshcd at convenient puluts through- iH9 out thu city whore they could bo re- jnfl col veil. Kuch rat was tugged with ill Ili6 street and number of tho build- tH Ing or lot from which It came! was iW dropped Into n strong antiseptic so- i9 lutlon, nnd eventually sent to the bio- M logleul laboratory, whore It was sub- flU Jected to' n hucterlulogleal exunilnit- l.MM tlon for plague, illl "Ilulldlngs In which plague rats - tm woro tntcon were trcuted exactly as Jy9 , were those who'ro the disease at- II tucked the, Unman pccupuui Tho IS bacteriological oxaiulnntlon of rats en- 111 Hilled tho board of health to follow tho ! pest Into Its most secret haunts and 'jf9 fight It there, nntl wus the most tin mm portnnt factor in tho winning of Jbo MM great succoss which was ultimately 1 achieved. Km "With very few oxceptloiw, ' thorot 141 wns no recurrence of plague'ln hulld Jul lugs which had been dlsliifectotl and tM renovated. As ccnier after ceil tor of mm Infection ws ft'Uud anll'Uostrpyed the- 'WM .crcontnge of diseased rats begun to IU decrease, und lit January, 11)02. when, jgjl Judging from the history of previous jM years, pluifiiu should liavo bugun to Vvm spread among humnn beings, thoro 9m was not a single case. In February, M ono case occurred. In March, iheru Wk were two cases, as against Kl In jflP March of tho preccJing year and bo- W fore pril. tho dlseuso had cgmplete- fl ly 0 'appeared." ii |