?13
The first recorded outbreak took place near Muhammadpur
amongst a body of six hundred prisoners working on the road from
Jessore to Dacca. Other outbreaks occurred in Jessore in 1846 and
1857, and in 1860·63 fever recurred to a much more alarming extent
involving Jessore, Nadia, Baraset and the northern portion of the 24-
Parganas. In 1867 the great Burdwan epidemic began, sweeping
through the district of that name and affecting parts of Bankura,
Birbhum and Midnapore. This outbreak, which is calculated to
have destroyed two million people, has been attributed to Kala-Azar,
but in our opinion there is not sufficient evidence that this disease
was concerned, and to us it appears probable that malaria was in the
main responsible.
The census of 1881 records that in 1872 the ravages of malaria at
Dinajpur were greater than in any other district in the division, that
by 1877 things had become still worse until at least 75 per cent. of
the inhabitants were in a bad state of health, and 53 per cent.
suffered from enlarged spleen, while the recorded death-rate had
reached 43 per mille. In 1878·79 there was some slight remission;
but in 1880 the condition returned with increased violence. In Rung-
pur, during the decade preceding 1880, the district increased progres-
sively in unhealthiness until 80 per cent. of the inhabitants were re-
ported to be anĉmic, suffering from enlarged spleen, or laid up with
fever, and of the 20 per cent. supposed healthy only half could be
considered so in the European sense. In Rajshahi and the neighbour-
ing portions of Pabna immediately north of the Ganges, is another
area ravaged by frequent epidemics of fever, which have occurred
about the years 1881, 1893 and at other times. More recently Mur-
shidabad has been the site of disastrous outbreaks and as late as 1907
Birbhum has suffered in a similar way, while from time to time many
other areas have been affected.
Over and over again, as the result of numberless enquiries, it has
been stated that the factor producing these epidemics has been a
change in the natural drainage of the country, But the theory that
ascribes to waterlogging of the soil the occurrence of such out-
breaks is probably based upon the old notions regarding malaria
modified a little to fit in with our present knowledge of the mosquito