Page 31 - PERSIAN 4 1899_1905

RESIDENCY AND MASKAT POLITICAL AGENCY FOR THE YEAR 1899-1000. 23
This epidemic, like its two predecessors, was preceded by on epidemio in India. The
Epidomio of 1809. disease appears to have originated at Karachi in
... . f , . to® Mekranee lines in May and to have raged
there with great soventy for nearly two months. It was thence introduced into Gwaduxin
tho month of August, when great apprehensions having been felt of the dictt* extend-
,Dg to Maakat, the local authorities were repeatedly advised to adopt stringent measures for
keeping it out. But the local authorities failed to wako up to tho' danger, aud it was, there-
fore, no wonder that in the absence of even the ordinary precautions, ns anticipated, the diesis*
broko out in tho neighbouring sea-port town of Matrah in the month of September. Although
no procieo data or mode of importation can be fixed upon, it may fairly he concluded that the
disease had been in oxistonce for some days, or even, perhaps, some weeks before its presence
came casually to my notice. r
In n place like Maekat, where there is no systematic arrangement for obtaining informa­
tion regarding the health of the population, the difficulties in tho way of tracing the origin
and history of an epidemic disease, as may be easily conjectured, are great, but when to them
is added the persistent hostile attitude of the people themselves in regard to any inquiry on tho
subject, the task becomes a hopeless one. The fact of the disease having first broken out in
the Jabru suburb of Matrah,'which is mostly inhabited by Mckranis, points to its having been
imported . by some Baluchi passengers from Gwadur or Karachi, and as about that time no
small sailing craft arrived from either of tho places, the great probability is that those passen­
gers arrived hero by one of tho mail steamers. This assumption would appear to be consider­
ably supported by the fact that all quarantine arrangements were suspended in Maskat from
the 15th July to the 16th August, so that the passengers arriving here during that period did
not undergo even the formal inspection or restraint which they would have done under other
circumstances. The fact also that the epidemic developed gradually and insidiously oven in
the original focus of infection without exciting any suspicion or drawing attention to it lends
suppurt to it. In fact even after the existence of the disease was a well-recognised thing, the
attacks wero so few at first that I am of opinion that the first case of cholera occurred long
prior to any suspicion of its presence.
Barring the fact that the hot and dry winds which usually prevail during the months of
June and July were protracted and unusally severe,
Meteorological and other conditions preceding
tbe outbreak. there was nothing abnormal in the condition of
the atmosphere.
During the period immediately preceding the epidemic, namely, tho month of August and
early part of September, the weather, as usual at that time of the year, was damp, in conse­
quence of a strong south-west monsoon wind, charged with moisture, and although people here
would seem from their experience of the epidemic of 1885, to have an impression that a humid
condition of the atmosphere such as exists duriug the prevalence of the. south-west
monsoon favours tho spreading of the disease, there was no peculiar atmospheric condition
found during the receat epidemic, to favour or retard its progress. Nor was there any abnor­
mal circumstance noticeable in connexion with the soil of the place.
It is, however, a notorious fact that the sanitary condition of Maskat and Matrah had
been entirely neglected, and heaps of rubbish and putrefying organic matters not unfrequently
attracted attention both inside the towns and in the suburbs. But this was by no means an
unusual circumstance for the place as it had been in existence for years, nor do I hold the
belief that filth by itself alone can cause cholera; still there is no denying that these dung­
hills aud insanitary centres had a powerful influence as a predisposing cause on its ^propaga­
tion; what share they took in it may he judged by the fact that the greatest incidence of
attacks occurred in localities quite close to them. What I wrote in 1876 in my Medical
topography of Maskat" has in this r«-spect come to be true
“Maskat has undoubtedly been entirely free fromtbodisease (cholera)since then (I860) ;
but the sanitation being so very defective, some of tho predisposing causes are always in exist­
ence, and the introduction of the speciGc poison will excite an epidemic of great virulence and
severity."
The first case that made me suspect tho probability of the appearance of cholera in Matrah
__ that of a Sunnee Persian boy named Abdur
was
The first eases that came to my notico. Rahman bin Muhammad, aboat 12 years of age,
living in the Mazi Meya quarter of tbo town, who was reported to me as having died suddenly
on the 19th of September. An inquiry into the cause of his death elicited the fact of his having
suffered from vomiting and purging two days previously and of his having been in bad health
since then; he was found to be unconscious and to have passed a large watery motion just
before hie death. This was followed in a few days by the news of the death of a Shia Persian
girl, named Maunce, about 12 years of age, living in Jabrn, one of the suburbs of Matrah, on
the 28rd, from choleraic symptoms, and on inquiry it was ascertained that her young brother,
about nine years of ago, living in the same bouse, had suffered from siAilar symptoms two
da7» previously and had recovered. Some more cases then came to my notice as having
occurred within the next few days in the suburb of Jabru. The disease would thus appear to
have originated in Jabru to which it was at first principally confined, particularly as {here seems
no difficulty in tracing connexion between the first case, namely, that of the boy Abdi r
Rahman, and that suburb, provided the possibility of his haviug visited tha _ y
h»ving drunk water from a probably infected source of supply there be kept in view. JSeamo*