of them, here, though the statistics are inexact, we have the word of
the men and women themselves who stood between the dead and the
living, and the plague was stayed. Such faults as there were, in 1899,
in the treatment--the contamination of this or that stock of the
fluid, and the inadequate method of standardisation--have been duly
noted by the Commission. The rush for the fluid in 1899 may be
estimated from the following paragraphs:--
(i.) _Paris._ "The preparation of anti-plague serum is being
rapidly proceeded with; up to the present time the Institute has
supplied it, in response to all the very numerous requests which
have come from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Turkey, without
encroaching on the reserve kept in readiness for Paris and the
departments." (_Lancet_, 16th September 1899.)
(ii.) _India._ "The spread of plague westward to Spain and
Portugal seems to have excited more or less general alarm, and I
hear that an unprecedented demand has suddenly arisen for the
plague prophylactic fluid. The Government of India have been
asked the cost of supplying from 50,000 to 100,000 doses, and
the earliest date at which this quantity could be despatched. It
is also desired to know if in case of need 50,000 doses a week
could be sent to London. Russia desires to obtain a considerable
stock for Port Arthur. Italy has been making inquiries for home
use; and also Portugal, in order to inoculate at Mozambique. The
present laboratory is at Government House, Parel, Bombay, and
has only recently been fitted up by the Government of India.
About 10,000 doses a day can be turned out, but it is thought
that still further enlargements will be required if the demand
should increase beyond this amount." (_Lancet_, 23rd September
1899.)
* * * * *
It would take too long for the present purpose to consider what has
been done, not only for the prevention of plague, but also for its
cure by a serum treatment. The results obtained by this treatment in
India have not been very good; but Yersin and others report better
results in other countries. Good results are reported from Amoy
(1896), Nhatrang (1898), Oporto (1899), and Buenos Ayres (1899-1900).
In Glasgow, the prophylactic use of Yersin's serum seems to have done
excellent service: the success of its curative use was not very
striking. The curative results at Nhatrang (Yersin, _Annales de
l'Institut Pasteur_, March 1899) are notable. Nhatrang is an Annamese
fishing-village; and the plague, when it was left to itself, killed
every case that it got:--
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