. Interstate medical journal . lague patients, and also the statisticsup to the middle of January of this year show a remarkable feature inthat there were 240 infected rats against three patients in Kobe, and 179against nine patients in Osaka. 618 KITASATO. During the present epidemic I have had opportunity to make closeobservations as to the prevailing conditions, and have discovered an in-teresting fact concerning the habits of the rodent. Rats generally liveon the ceiling below the roof, but in winter they change their abode byremoving to the ground just below the floor. Therefore, in order
. Interstate medical journal . lague patients, and also the statisticsup to the middle of January of this year show a remarkable feature inthat there were 240 infected rats against three patients in Kobe, and 179against nine patients in Osaka. 618 KITASATO. During the present epidemic I have had opportunity to make closeobservations as to the prevailing conditions, and have discovered an in-teresting fact concerning the habits of the rodent. Rats generally liveon the ceiling below the roof, but in winter they change their abode byremoving to the ground just below the floor. Therefore, in order todiscover the openings which harbor the rodents, the ground should be dugto a depth of I or 2 feet, the rat-holes are thus exposed and the animalscan be exterminated. This method, owing to the subterranean habit ofrats in winter, invariably secures a great number. These animals aregregarious and consequently, if one of their number becomes infected inthe winter quarters, then many must inevitably fall victims to the Fig. 10.—Infection of left submaxillary gland before the abscess was incised (case recovered). but obviously there is less danger from rodents which live undergroundand apart from human habitation than there is from those dwelling inthe houses themselves. It is for this reason that during winter epidemicsa very large number of infected rats, as compared with human patients,is encountered. The weak rodents are constantly menaced and frightened by thestrong ones, so that the individuals which have been attacked by plaguemust maintain constant vigilance so as to be able to flee from their pur-suers. As a weak rat has not sufficient strength to climb a fence or toreach any considerable height it is obliged to wander on the surface ofthe ground, thus providing for the spread of plague. COMBATING PLAGUE IN JAPAN. 619 The large number of children who are infected by playing- on theground would seem to emphasize the fact that in this situation the ba-cillus is
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