If a complete and simultaneous fumigation of this vessel had been made when she was empty at Valparaiso, it is very probable that all the rodents on the vessel would have been killed, for the vessel only loaded niter and coffee and metal concentrates between Valparaiso and San Francisco, and did not touch a wharf at any port, therefore there was no chance of rats gaining admission to the vessel through the cargo. 2. Vessels bound for United States ports.-The local liners, 9 in number, plying between the islands and mainland ports, were either fumigated at Seattle or San Francisco during the year and yielded 117 rats. The sailing vessels engaged in carrying lumber from the mainland ports were fumigated at Hilo and Honolulu, these being the only island ports where these vessels go alongside a dock, after discharge of their cargo and just prior to their departure. 3. Vessels engaged in interisland trade.-The interisland vessels were fumigated at regular intervals throughout the year, the fumigation of 48 vessels resulted in 96 rats being killed. In the fumigation of all vessels at this port, a careful search has been made of all boats, dunnage, and coils of rope, frequently carried on the top of deck houses and on the poop deck, as well as the tubs for coiling the rope attached to the boat blocks have been searched for signs of rats, and with success in three instances. In one case a nest of three young and a grown female were discovered in a rope tub, in another case three young rats were found within a coil of rope over which had been thrown a tarpaulin, while in the third instance, a number of full-grown rats were driven out of a mass of bamboo and matting which was stored on top of a poop deck house. Recently Passed Asst. Surg. C. M. Fauntleroy, while traveling from this port to Hongkong on the steamship China, noticed rats on the boat deck and in the rigging and when a search was made several rats were found in the ship's boats, thus emphasizing the necessity for care and thoroughness in the fumigation of all vessels. AID RENDERED OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICES. Board of health. The remains of four persons, dying from leprosy at the Kalihi receiving station, were cremated at the quarantine station for the board of health. One case of measles was removed from an arriving vessel and detained at the station upon the request of the board of health. A large amount of media was prepared and a number of swabs sterilized for use of the board of health during the year. Queen's Hospital.-Sixty mattresses and pillows were fumigated for the hospital for the eradication of vermin. Lighthouse Establishment.—Because of a case of leprosy occurring in the person of a daughter of one of the keepers, an inspection was made of the Barbers Point Lighthouse, upon the request of the inspector of the nineteenth district, to determine whether any other of the personnel were affected with leprosy, as well as to examine into the sanitary condition of the station. All employees, as well as their families, were examined and found to be free of any evidence of leprosy, while nothing objectionable was found in regard to the sanitary condition except the method of the disposal of the garbage. This was simply dumped in a shallow hole in the lava rock a short distance from the dwellings and afforded a breeding place for innumerable flies. The inspector was advised to have this garbage pit filled in and, in the future, to dump the garbage on the reef and where it would be covered by sea water. United States Coast Guard.-Fourteen seamen were treated in the out-patient office and 28 in the hospital during the year. Asst. Surg. L. E. Hooper held daily sick call on the Thetis and accompanied the vessel on several cruises, which accounts for the small number of seamen receiving out-patient treatment during the year. The Thetis, on April 25, departed for San Francisco and upon arrival there was condemned and sold. Foreign consuls.-Eighteen seamen were admitted to hospital and two were furnished out-patient treatment upon the request of their respective consuls. CREMATIONS. The remains of seven persons were cremated at the quarantine station during the year, of which four were cremated on account of leprosy, on request of the board of health, one was an employee of the service, while the remaining two were relatives of employees at the station. RAT CAMPAIGN. Eighteen thousand three hundred and twenty-seven rats and mongoose were taken in the district of Honolulu during the year, of which 17,155 were trapped, 657 were shot from trees, 273 were killed by sulphur dioxide, and 9 were found dead, while 233 mongoose were trapped. There was a reduction in the number of rats trapped amounting to 4,470 over that of the previous year, which was largely due to the dropping of one of the trappers on account of insufficient funds. The rodent work in Honolulu, as well as in Hilo and along the Hamakua coast, is considered most important, for the islands are in close commercial relations with the plague centers of the Orient, west coast of South America, and, through the opening of the Panama Canal, with those of Europe. None of the wharves or the warehouses where cargo is stored is rat proof, and, therefore, only by the regular trapping and examination of rodents will plague, if it occurs, be promptly detected and the work of control thereby rendered much easier. Suitable ordinances for rat proofing buildings, installing and covering garbage receptacles, as well as other measures to control the food supply for rodents, have yet to be enacted in the Hawaiian Islands. At several meetings, held during the year, the president of the board of health and the chief quarantine officer have urged the enactment of such ordinances, and it is hoped that some action in this direction will be taken in the near future. Vessels inspected and detained for fumigation for rat quarantine_ Vessels inspected and allowed to transact business in quarantine_ Vessels fumigated by request for eradication of vermin. Vessels arriving with quarantinable disease or having had same on 15 1 4 97 12 Cases of contagious disease cared for by request of board of health__ 1 558 Number of Canal Zone bills of health issued_. 14 Number of rats and mice killed on vessels by fumigation_ 276 Number of inspections of vessels for observance of rat guard precautions 535 Number of vessels on which cargo was inspected for rat signs_ 119 349, 126 1 Mus alexandrinus, 4; Mus musculus, 1; Mus norvegicus, 11; and Musrattus, 13. 72, 082 Decrease in number of rats, mice, and mongoose caught, as compared with last year- 54 27 8 184 534 123 7 984 4, 469 Cases of human plague on the Island of Hawaii from February, 1900 to June 30, 1916. Year. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total. Cases of rodent plague on the Island of Hawaii from Aug. 28, 1907, to June 30, 1916. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total. Rodent work in Hawaii by the Territorial board of health for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916. Total rats, mice, and mongoose taken_ Rats trapped-- Rats found dead_ Mongoose taken. Rats and mongoose examined macroscopically. Classification of rats trapped and found dead: Mus musculus_ Mus rattus__ Mus norvegicus__ Number of cases of human plague_ Number of pieces of poisoned food placed__ Rats not classified, found dead and trapped in plantation camps and burned. 4 4, 602 694, 140 49, 139 Table giving foreign, oriental, and insular stations and transactions for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916. Acting Asst. Surg. J. L. Castro-Gutierrez reports as follows: During the fiscal year 163 vessels were dispatched. Of these, 143 were fumigated before sailing, 20 were inspected and passed. There were 13,285 members of crews, 5,873 cabin passengers and 3,576 steerage passengers inspected, with issuance to the latter of 2,572 certificates of health. There were 3,381 persons vaccinated, as they came from localities infected with smallpox, and 2,456 pieces of baggage were disinfected and 236 pieces were inspected and passed, 251 certificates of inspection of certain class of suspected cargo being issued; and 28,841 disinfected hides and 85,276 poisoned skins were inspected. |