PLAGUE MENACE.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17320, 5 December 1921, Page 7

PLAGUE MENACE.

PRECAUTIONS IN SYDNEY. IBv Cable—Prew Associationr-Copyright.) (Australia and N.Z. Ca-bl© Association.) (Received December 4th, 5.5 p.m.) SYDNEY, December 4. The maritime authorities have issued regulations, against the possible Bpread of plague from Sydney. Tho (passengers and crews of all outward-bound oversea vessels must he medically inspected. The loading of all cargo for overseas and inter-State ports is also officially supervised.

As Sydney has bean formally declared a plague-infected port, there was some reason, based on former custom, to believe that steamers coming direct to New Zealand from there would have to undergo quarantine, until they had bean a certain number of days out from Sydney. Such is not the case. Consulted on Friday evening, the chief medical officer for Now Zealand (Dr. Valintine) stated that under tihe International Convention it was not neoessary to quarantine a vessel from an infected port unless it was known that there was either rat plague or human plague on board. Dr. Valintine said he was making certain recommendations to Cabinet on the matter, and there would possiblv he some information available in the near future as to what was intended to be done.

"As a matter of fact," he added, "we have been treating Sydney practically as an infected port for several weeks past, and tho formal declaration that it is such does not necessitate any alteration here. We have been taking all the precautions, indeed, even more precautions than agreed upon at the International Sanitany Congress in Paris in 1912 and recently ratified."

DEATH AND SECOND CASE IN SYDNEY. (Received December stli, 12.5 a.m.) SYDNEY, December 4. The first plague patient, whose namo was Maher, is dead. The Sussex street premises, where he was employed, have been thoroughly overhauled. A few rats were caught, but none was infected with plague. A second well-developed case has been sent to hospital from Sussex street premises a considerable distance (frtom whjere the first discovery was made. The authorities regard this as proof that infected rats are wider spread than was thought. Steps are being taken for the strict enforcement of the precautions operating in Queensland and other States.