?97
26. The coolies engaged in the work of disinfection, &c.,
should be provided with boots or shoes to protect their feet
from the danger of infection through abraded surfaces.
27. It may be necessary, owing to the occurrence of several
cases in the one area, to vacate a group of houses or a whole
sub-division. Should any necessity exist for the adoption of
such a measure, it should be carried out as soon as possible by
placing a cordon of police or troops around the area and remov-
ing the whole population to the segregation camp. Disinfec-
tion and unroofing of the houses to be carried out in due course.
28. Experience has abundantly proved that the evacuation
of an infected house or houses is seldom in itself sufficient to
stamp out the disease. When plague manifests itself in one
house, in an indigenous form, those in the neighbourhood
have, as a rule, already become infected, and it usually follows
that cases subsequently appear in them. It is, therefore,
always a wise and prudent course on the occurrence of an
indigenous case, not only to evacuate the one house but also
all those in the immediate neighbourhood.
29. On the evacuation of the houses in the infected areas
all the other inhabitants should be encouraged to leave the
town and any obstacles which may tend to delay their depar-
ture should, if possible, be removed. The time for prescribing
the issue of passes should be carefully considered by the
Collector, as, if the rules prohibiting departure without passes
are applied prematurely, the exodus of the inhabitants gene-
rally will be retarded, more particularly of the poorer classes,
who feel diffident about applying for passes or are too apa-
thetic to do so.
30. In a large town where the disease has become of general
prevalence, every quarter being affected, and the arrangements
for dealing with the epidemic are incomplete and defective,
measures must be taken to regulate the departure of the
population and prevent them carrying infection to healthy
areas. Every effort should in the meantime be made to provide
sufficient accommodation in huts for a large proportion of the
population.
31. In the case of villages badly infected the whole of
the inhabitants should be turned out. Villagers are accus-
tomed to erecting shelters for themselves, but, if necessary,
materials for hutting should be supplied. The sick and
suspected villagers should be carefully separated from the
healthy, and an officer should be appointed to examine the
13