تقارير إدارية من الخليج العربي ١٨٨٣/١٨٨٤ – ١٩٠٤/١٩٠٥ [ظ‎‎٢‎٢‎٨] (٦٠٢/٤٦١)

30 ADMINISTEATION REPORT ON THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL
who were very regular in reporting symptoms as they developed and who were the onlv '•
communities capable of appreciating in an intelligent manner ihe value of our treatment f ^
the case of the majority of the other persons who were treated no intimation whatever' ofth"
progress of the disease was received after the issue of the first dose or doses of medicine If
we, therefore, restrict our calculation to the result obtained among the Khojas and Hind
only, we find that there were only 7 deaths among the 31 persons that received treatment 8
giving a ratio of 22-6 per cent, of deaths to treated, whilst among the others that were treated
there was a death-rate of 48 per cent., nearly equal to the general death-rate (5()'7 per eenU
and only slightly less than the death-rate (52 per cent.) among the persons that were not
treated. Exception, however, may be taken to the result among the Hindus beino- included
in the comparison on the ground of the smallness of the number of the cases amoi.<? them and
the fact of their having been the last two cases in the epidemic, but even if we exclude them
from this calculation we have still the highly favourable result of 7 deaths among the 29
Khojas that were treated, tbat is to say, a ratio per cent, of 24*1 deaths to treated.
When the disease began to assume epidemic proportions, I advised strongly the taking
Prophylactic treatment. of a dose (m. xx) of dilute sulphuric acid in an
to not now that with the exception of two Kh^0^™^^ Kho'ja.rtf non^o^'tS!
r? ftlTt . tllIs . a ? vl0 ? r 6, f e f red f 100 " the disease, though it must be slated that the maiority
1 f hi V. ? Maskat were not du-ectly exposed to infection. The members o£ the
menial establishment of the Political Agent s Office, who were all given a dose of snlphnrio
ao'd every morning were, however, d.fferently situated, many of them having had cLesof
cholera in their houses or in tbe.r immediate neighbourhood, and although they were thus
directly exposed to infection, they all escaped; but their number is too small for the result
of the prophylactic treatment among them to be considered of any importance as a test o£ i s
If it T ' 1 % 0tlle a r PK^ylaetic measures that were strongly recommended were the boiling
perlnga n e Ite 0 of p 0 o^^ e to P i U t POSeS ' additi0n ' " P racti <* ble . - ^tla solution of
Soon after the appearance of the epidemic it began to manifest its influence on the general
, population by causing an nnnsual prevalence of
Cholerine or premonitory diarrhoea. diarrhoea. No idea can be formed even approxi-
t - j * i, . , , , . mately of the number of such cases as no informa-
won could be obtained about it at the time, the people generally looking „p on itasa tntW
affection and failing to realize the danger of its proving to be a preLsory symptom of f
much graver disease. There can, however, be no doubt that some of these case J event^allv
developed symptoms of true cholera, though from the return of such cases as applied for
treatment in Matrah, their proportion appears to be small. Out of 77 cases of diarrhoea that
were^ treated m Matrah, only 10 subsequently developed true cholera with one death The
number of cases treated in Maskat was 24. The treatment of these cases consistedin the
administration of astringent powders composed of Pulv. Catechu Go. and Bismuth album
and m only a few instances after the failure of these powders to cheek the diarrhoea it was
necessary to give a dose or two of Pil. Plumb, c. opio. '
When cholera first broke out in Gwadur and threatened to invade Maskat, repeated and
. . urgent representations were made to the local
Preventive and sanitary measures. authorities with a view to the re-imposition of
xr i. .. Q ,;,aran tine on vessels arrivinp* from that oorf and
Karachi as a preventive measure but the seriousness of the situation was then evidentlt not
sufficiently realized. Similarly when the disease first broke out in the Jabru quarter of Matrah
Its very existence was denied, so that no measures whatever were taken to prcvent thesmead-
• D ° j HT I l S !t Se ' , ' was onl y when it assumed epidemic proportions and threatened to
invade Maskat that the first step towards any measures likely to eradicate it was taken at
the BXchiTu-^to of Mttrah bTi; d 7 i0 h^ 8 , 0r ? naIly 00n, ' n< ' d to the sub ' : " b of Jabru an<i
7 f- q T n . Ma T tr f h > , o£ whloh localities were supplied with drinkin- water
r ,l T Tu ' presumption was great that the water was the source of
infection and I therefore recommended the disinfection of tha well with nermansranata of
potash. This recommendation had to bo extended to all the wells in Matrah and Maskat
f f n r l 0me9t , lC P"!? 0868 * f0r by the time " wa8 into effect, ?he diselse
had extended to all the parts of the town and had also broken out in Maskat.
When the disease extended to the interior there was great danger of caravans and other
peop e bringing it again and causiog fresh centres of infection to ward off which at mv
Matrah 9n but 10 the a watch k detention was established at Wateyyeh, about 5 mile's from
detained there t P V fr- ^ S0 . l ° efi 'f lve that instances of persons supposed to he
detained there, having found their way into the town often came to mv notire Similarlv
infection hail 'Tf d on veBseUfrom the Mekran Coast to which place the
observed As ft stmedT„ SPr ^ Gwa,iur '. n0 effOTt was that it was strictly
observed. As it seemed to me that any suggestion on my part for an organised system of
general sanitary measures would not be adopted on the ground of its impiacticability, I confined
my advice to the personal d'sinfeetion of the attacked and their immediate surrounding and
persons fallerformedir/ 8 77 f ^ V us whenever the friends of the attacked
persons called for medical relief, His Highness the Sultan having made it publicly known