APPENDIX No. 6.
Rats,
Whether rats bring Plague from infected into uninfected localities, or
whether local rats are the first victims to existing local infection, has
not been determined. It seems almost certain that, in some instances,
rats suffering from Plague have moved in numbers to a fresh locality, and
have brought Plague among the people there. In other instan-
ces the evidence seems to show that local rats sickened in consequence of
the introduction of infection by human agency. In either case the certain
and close connection between sick rats and Plague is beyond question;
and the sequence is almost invariable that, unless disinfectants are freely
used, Plague among rats is followed by Plague among men. It was the
hope of the Committee to devise some organization by which rats could be
killed in large numbers. High rewards, as much as one anna a rat, were
offered, and the necessity of inducing people to kill rats was impressed on
all Plague officials. The idea of bringing Wadars or other Deccan
rat-catchers to work in Bombay was suggested, but had to be aban-
doned. The Wadars and other upcountry rat-catchers work in open fields
driving the rats into the centre of the rat warrens, and there securing
them in large numbers. The stone pavements in Bombay made the tools
and the methods of the upcountry rat-catcher useless. Again it was
thought that among British soldiers a certain number of skilled rat-
catchers might be found. This attempt also failed. Finally, Bombay
native rat-catchers were engaged, but with no satisfactory result, The
only course that remained was to continue the existing practice of
special care in obtaining news of sick rats, and in opening the drains,
closing and disinfecting the rat-holes, and disinfecting the rooms
and the surroundings of any house in which sick or dead rats were
found.
Dr. Lewis Godinho, the District Medical Officer, gives the following
details of his experience in C Ward, both during the first and during the
recent epidemic:-"Sick rats are generally found in a locality from eight
to twelve days before the first case of Plague occurs among men. Plague-
stricken rats give out a musky odour and rapidly develop buboes. They
move about listlessly in back gullies, sinks, and bathing-places. After two
days they cease to be able to move. Local rats may sometimes be infected
by imported Plague. As a rule, the rats seem to carry the Plague
moving from south to north, and, less regularly, from east to west. In