204

Report on Kála-ázar.

any means of checking the disease which come within the
bounds of practical policy, but the difficulty must be faced.
It will then tend to clearness if I first lay down the measures
which are likely to be efficient in staying or limiting the
ravages of the epidemic, and afterwards indicate the manner
in which they can best be carried out. The measures to be
taken on tea gardens will be separately considered, as here it
is possible to lay down a definite plan of action with a cer-
tainty that it can and will be carried into effect.

      The only way in which the spread of the epidemic can
possibly be checked is (1) by cutting off inter-communication
between infected and non-infected villages and districts, and
(2) by moving the houses of attacked villages from the
infected sites to a short distance only during the cold-weather
months, when the fever is at a minimum.

      The extreme difficulty of carrying out such measures will
be at once apparent; in fact, they will be absolutely impossible
without the cordial assistance of the people of the affected
districts. If, however, the native population are willing to
adopt a few simple measures based on the knowledge that
we now possess regarding the methods and ways in which
the disease is spread, then very much may be done to check
the mortality and spread the disease.

      Now, I have shown in Sections VI and VII that the people
in isolated instances in various districts have themselves, on
their own initiative, adopted the very measures which are
best fitted to check the mortality and spread of the epidemic,
and it is indeed only from the favourable results that have
followed their action that clear evidence of the efficiency of
the very measures which I am about to propose has been
obtained. Moreover, I have shown in Section VII that the
people of the affected districts are in such terror of the
disease, that they have even broken through their social and
religious customs in their endeavours to escape the infection.
I am therefore strongly of the opinion that in spite of
the essentially lazy, easy-going, and intensely conservative