PNEUMONIA PLAGUE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10207, 18 February 1919, Page 6

PNEUMONIA PLAGUE

In the latter part of 1910 the pnelk monia plague first appeared in Harbin, a town in Manchuria under Chinese control (says an exchange). Harbin is «S, the Trans-Siberian railroad, and *»li the original hotbed of disease. It w»l\ believed that the plague was carried in- ' to Harbin by the fur dealers and by , Chinese labourers returning to _ their homes to, celebrate New- Year s Day, a custom universally observed in China, from Harbin the plague rapidly spread in all directions, usually following the lines of traffic along tho railroads. By January 24th, 1911, 1500 Chinese and twenty-seven Europeans, two of whom were physicians and one au assistant, had died of it, according to Captain James Joseph King, writing ia the "Medical Eecord.”, Nearly all those who had the disease died of it. Wherever the Chinese coolies from the North have travelled they have earned thia disease. From 1910 up to, 1917 China has not been free from it. In the early part of 1917 about 200,000 Chinese coolies, collected from the northern part of China, where the pneumonic plague has raged at intervals since 1910, were sent to France 'as labourer*. They' made splendid labourers in France, and wore behind the lines during the German drive of March, 1918. No doubt many of them were captured by the Gormans at that time. lienee tho outbreak of it in tho German army. So far as we know, this disease first broke out last spring in the German army, where it is said to have been very serious. We next heard of it in Spain, hence the name Spanish influenza-