2
Punjab, and it had spread up to the foot of the Hills, beyond the River Jhelum,
and as far as the boundaries of the United Provinces and Rájpútána It is sug-
gested that the immunity of that portion of the Punjab which is still free is due to
the fact that it is for the most part sparsely populated. A few more years will
show whether plague will extend to the North-West Dry Area and to the Hills.
It, however, is remarkable that, though Mooltan and Baháwalpur reported out-
breaks in 1901-02, neither in Baháwalpur nor in Mooltan was the outbreak
severe or followed by a recrudescence. There is some reason to believe that in
Mooltan the outbreak reported as one of plague was really one of cerebro-spinal
meningitis, and the same may have been the case in Baháwalpur. Plague
infection imported into the Hills appears to have died out after giving rise only
to limited outbreaks such as those at Kasauli, Sabáthu, Nálagarh, and Núrpur
in Kángra.
3. The severity of the epidemic in certain districts, as well as the rapidity
of its spread in recent years, can be judged from the following figures relating to
districts which have suffered most, viz.-
	
No.
District.
Number of   villages
and
towns.
  PARTICULARS REGARDING EPIDEMICS BEFORE 1901-02.   
OUTBREAKS OF 1901-03.
Total
number of plague
deaths.
Population
according to the Census
of 1901.
Percentage of total plague deaths to population.



Years in
which infected.
Total number of plague
deaths
reported.

Number of   
villages
and towns
infected.
  Plague
  deaths reported,   
1901-02.
Number of  villages and towns infected
Plague deaths reported,
1902-03.



















































1
Jullundur       
1,226
1897-1901
4,132
673
18,959
714
25,229
48,320
917,587
5.2
2
Hoshiárpur      
2,128
"
872
463
12,500
844
19,355
32,727
989,782
3.3
3
Siálkot 
2,355
1900-1901
1,857
933
34,137
383
14,355
50,349
1,083,909
4.6
4
Gurdáspur 
2,255
"
1,436
765
16,479
259
5,164
23,079
940,334
2.4
5
Ambala          
1,725
"
47
404
22,762
187
6,318
29,127
815,880
3.5
6
Ludhiána        
869
"
33
665
48,028
173
4,929
52,990
673,097
7.8
7
Ferozepore 
1,511
"
13
91
6,342
230
7,895
14,250
958,072
1.4
8
Gujránwála     
1,205
...
...
60
2,244
720
45,456
47,700
756,797
6.3
9
Lahore          
1,540
...
...
411
9,400
759
25,652
35,052
1,162,109
3.0
10
Amritsar        
1,047
...
...
60
1,837
563
27,891
29,729
1,023,828
2.9
4. In addition to the districts mentioned above, outbreaks were reported
during 1901-02 in Gujrát (553 deaths), Karnál (333), Shahpur (206), Jhang
(176), Simla (44 deaths in Sabáthu and 1 in Simla bazár, the deceased being a
man who came up from Sabáthu and developed plague immediately), and Mooltan
(20) ; while isolated cases, resulting in 20 deaths, occurred also in Hissar, Delhi,
Kángra, Jhelum, Ráwalpindi, Dera Gházi Khan, Miánwáli and Montgomery.
5. In 1902-03 there were renewed outbreaks in all districts previously
reported as infected districts, except Mooltan. In Mooltan there were a few
isolated cases only ; such cases occurred also in Delhi and Miánwáli ; and the
total number of plague deaths reported in these three districts was 10 only. In
Kángra 12 deaths were reported in a small outbreak at Núrpur, which did not
spread. In Simla the outbreak in Sabáthu continued, but it died out after Octo-
ber, and only 9 deaths were reported in the district during the year. Three im-
ported cases occurred in  Simla itself, but none of these terminated fatally.    In