Report on the sanitary condition of Malta and Gozo with reference to the epidemic cholera in 1865 / by Dr. Sutherland.
- John Sutherland
- Date:
- 1867
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Report on the sanitary condition of Malta and Gozo with reference to the epidemic cholera in 1865 / by Dr. Sutherland. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![It may enable us further to estimate more correctly the facts as regards Gozo, if we bear in mind, as already stated on Mr. Inglott's authority, that premonitory symptoms commenced to prevail in the Ospizio at Gozo about the middle of July, before the alleged date of importation, and that cases of cholera had appeared in Algeria, from 500 to 600 miles west from Malta, before the disease prevailed in Gozo, and that these cases were entirely of local origin.* The man Cilia who is supposed to have carried the disease from Malta arrived in Gozo on July 21st. ill of diarrhoea and was seized the same evening with symptoms of cholera from which he recovered. Bat Cilia was not the only person who had arrived from Malta since the outbreak of cholera there. There was no restriction on intercourse between the islands, and numerous boats and persons departed from Gozo, and arrived from Malta.f Nothing was known of their state of health and probably nothing would have been remembered of Cilia's case had it not been from certain events which followed it in the village. Plan XII. contains a sketch of Cilia's house. On the upper floor are two rooms, one entered from the top of an outside stair, the other is a small inner room. When the young man became worse he was laid on the floor of the outer room and the house v»'as crov>'ded with neighbours who came to assist. It was stated that as many as 14 or 15 persons were engaged in rubbing the patient, which they did so effectually that he suffered for some time afterwards from the operation. It was stated that not one of the persons engaged in rubbing the patient suffered subsequently. There were in the house at this time several members of Cilia's ftimily besides two or three neighbours from adjacent houses, and we shall now see what took place among these persons. The information was partly given by themselves, partly by the officer of police in charge at the time. It will be seen from the map that Xeuchia is a long straggling village with houses chiefly along the roads, and that the distances are considerable. Counting Michael Cilia's case, on July 21st, as the first case, there were four cases on the 24th. One of these, was a woman named Maria Biittigieg, living at a considerable distance from Cilia's liouse in another branch of the village. She had had no communication with the Cilias. She was sent to the Ospizio at Rabbato. The same day two of Cilia's sisters were taken ill, and were nursed in the small, inner room of the house. One died, the other recovered. The other case was in a woman named Cattarina Attard. This woman liad been in Cilia's house. She was attacked, and died at home. Next day, July 25, a woman named Maria Cassar, whose house was exactly opposite Cilia's, and who had been in Cilia's house was taken ill and died. * The facts (Appendix XVII.) regarding the earlier cases of cholera in Algo'ia in 1865 liave been kindly commmiicated to me by Mr. Churchill, Her Majesty's Cousul-General there, \\\ a report presented by M. Perier, principal medical officer to His Excellency the Due de Magenta, the Governor. M. Ferier had done what must always be done under similar circumstances, if we are to ai'rive at a correct knowledge of epidemic diseases, he had taken ste]is to keep himself informed of the very firsS appearance of the disease, and he received the following information on the subject. It is of importance to compare the dates with those of the earliest cases in Gozo :— 1. A Eabyle prison; r coming from Fort Napoleon in the Kabyle country to Deliys, on the sea coast, was seized with symptoms of cholera. He was received into hospital at Del'.ys, on July lOlh, and died on the 11th. 2. A mother and four children arrived by sea from Bona, where there was no cholera, at Dellys, and on the same date, the 10th, one of the children was admitted into hospital with cholera. She recovered. There was no disease at Dellys except a few customary cases of diarrhoeal and dysentei'ic affections. Cholera did not spread in the town. 3. On July 12th a European servant employed by the Kaid of Djelali, in the interior of the country, about 33 miles south of Medea, and 100 miles from Dellys, was brought to the hospital at Medea with ciiolera, and recovered. A.. A European workman living at L'Arba, who had recovered from, fever at Medea, went to Algiers, where there was no cholera, and passed the day of July 23rd. He arrived at Medea, 60 miles S.W. of Algiers on his way home at 5 o'cloclc p.m. of the 24th. He entered the hospital with clioiera at 8 p.m., and died at 2 p.m. of the 25th. M. Perier considers the first of these Medea cases as une fievrs pernicieuse algide choleriforme. Similar cases occurred at subsequent dates over a large area of the country for some time before the disease became epidemic. \ A memorandum prepared by the inspector of police at Gozo gives the following approximate number of boats and passengers leaving Gozo for Valletta and Marfa during three months preceding the date of Cilia's return to Gozo. The numbers indicate a corresponding number of arrivals in Gozo. Number of Number of Boats. Passengers. 217 775 : 210 750 147 525 '3^63 V'i^jiiOB & j From 1st to 31st May, 186^ .'' ' .■ • ■ , ' „ -IsttoSOtb June, „ j „ 1st to 21st July, „](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24749655_0065.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
