Studies upon the plague situation in North China / by Wu Lien-teh [and others].

Date:
[1929?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Studies upon the plague situation in North China / by Wu Lien-teh [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    illness, while two or three local villagers showed similar symptoms. The doctors reached Kueihua on January 3, but could do no useful work there because the local governor disbelieved that plague existed and refused to stop eastward traffic from Paotow; he would not even permit the doctors to examine any cases. Thus the doctors decided to return to Fengchen and join me. On their return trip they watched the steady extension of the epidemic; the deaths in the Wulu district had increased from 7 to 40. As soon as I arrived at Fengchen, I tried to inaugurate an adequate campaign, proposing besides anti-plague hospitals, quarantine stations, etc. three principal measures: (a) Closing of traffic from the west by erecting barriers at 3 points; (b) Control of the passenger traffic by selling tickets only to those who are given passes after medical inspection; medical officers to travel on passen¬ ger trains. (c) Stationing doctors at Tatungfu, Kalgan and Nankow to watch the traffic. The authorities in Peking preferred to suspend passenger traffic on the railway altogether, and this came in force on January 9. This measure deviated the traffic from the railway line where it could be better controlled than on the roads and therefore contributed to the spread southwards into Shansi proper. The first plague case at Fengchen at the railway station was detected on January 8 in a would-be III class passenger. A second suspicious case was found on January JO in a tradesman who had returned from Kueihua four days previously and had died after 2 days’ illness. Dr. Eckfelt who accompanied me to the house opened the abdomen and removed a big spleen for examination. The father who should have been isolated with the rest of the family was left at large and came with a mob to our living quarters in a railway car, which they nearly burnt. The local magistrate and police afforded no co-operation as they did not believe in the measures proposed by us or even in the existence of plague. The anti-plague work came to a temporary standstill and the epidemic which should have been localised prolonged its course. Illness compelled me to return to Peking, and other doctors took up the work. This is now described: ]. Suiyuan district. This forms a special administrative area comprising former Mongolian territory under a Tutung (military governor) with headquarters at Suiyuan city. The present city includes Kueihuacheng. Plague, which had early invaded the area in its course from Inner Mongolia, continued to be rampant at Wuyuan, Paotow and Saratsi which it passed. Some spread took place across the Yellow River to the south to Sianor, which was reached in middle of December. After some delay an anti-plague bureau was established by the Tutung at Suiyuan with examination stations at Wuyuan, Saratsi, Paotow, Maitan, Taikomo, etc. About February 15, Dr. S.H. Chuan arrived with a large staff from Peking to take charge and the disease was stamped out