(13). If plague breaks out, then isolation of cases is a great
necessity. When practicable, such isolation may be done in the house of
the patient. The patient should be kept in a separate room apart from
those where other inmates of the house live. A temporary room could be
put up on the roof of a house or in the compound, if there is any, or a
tent may be pitched. Where possible, all healthy inmates of the house
should at once remove themselves in camp leaving only such near
relatives who must attend and nurse the patient. For patients living in
lodging houses, or, where there is no means of such isolation as stated
above, segregation in special isolation hospitals should at once be
done. The isolation hospitals should be separate for each of the
following classes—(_a_) for lower class people; (_b_) for middle class
people; (_c_) for such people of the middle or upper class who may chose
to pay for their expenses. It is needless to say that there should be
special hospitals for women, where only female attendants and nurses
should be employed. Hospitals should be provided with means for free
ventilation, both for the sake of patients as well as attendants. No
other disease requires more careful nursing than the plague, therefore
ample nursing staff should be provided. The hospitals should have a
separate observation ward and a separate convalescent ward, and by no
means doubtful cases should be mixed up with confirmed cases.
Disinfecting apparatus, sterilizers, good water supply and special
laundry are other adjuncts essentially necessary for a plague hospital.
Greatest care is required in the management of such a hospital, and only
trained men should be employed.
Suitable means for ambulance should be provided, and should be had ready
within convenient distances. They should be thoroughly disinfected after
the conveyance of any case. Ambulance carts or doolies should be
comfortable, for physical exertion and exhaustion, attending a long
journey in the early stage, greatly compromise chance of recovery.
Burial within inhabited areas of a town or village should be stopped.
Dead bodies should be removed under strict precautions for disinfection
and disposed off quickly. Bodies should be buried deeply—4 to 6 feet.
_PRIVATE HYGIENE._
I. Houses and compounds, stables, kitchen and outhouses should be
thoroughly cleaned, and they should be whitewashed with lime. Air-tight
dustbins should be kept in the house.
II. Rooms, specially bed-rooms, should be well ventilated, attention
should be paid to the condition of the floor, which should not be damp,
and care should be taken that rats may not infest the house and spaces
under the floor. If dead rats are found in the house, they should be
removed and burnt, and the place thoroughly disinfected.
III. House drains should be cleaned and well flushed with a disinfectant
solution.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account