Norberta Mendoza, woman, aged fifty-six, lived at 1418, interior, C. Dagupan. She was the mother-in-law of Simplicio Enriques, the silversmith at 1364 Sande, and visited her son-in-law there frequently and within a few days of her last illness. She was taken sick April 22 and died at 1419, interior, C. Dagupan, on the morning of April 26. At autopsy at San Lazaro morgue, the same day, bubonic plague was found to be present and the cause of her death.
Trinidad Galves, a young woman, aged sixteen, lived at 1364 Sande and was taken sick there on April 25. She was removed to San Lazaro Hospital and died there April 26, extensive plague lesions being found at autopsy.
Pablo Banzon, man, aged twenty-six, living at 646 C. Ylaya, was taken sick on Friday, April 25. He was removed to San Lazaro Hospital Saturday afternoon and died there Sunday evening, April 27. He was shown to have plague by bacteriologic examination made at the Bureau of Science. He worked at 1364 Sande as a silversmith, with José Raymundo and was employed by Simplicio Enriques.
Simplicio Enriques, aged twenty-seven, a silversmith, conducting his business at 1364 C. Sande and employing José Raymundo and Pablo Banzon, was taken sick about April 23. He moved to two different houses in the interval between the onset of his sickness and his transfer to San Lazaro Hospital on April 27, first to 1419 C. Dagupan, interior, where he remained until the death of his mother at this house; then to 1492 Dagupan, interior, from which place he was transferred to San Lazaro Hospital, where he died with bubonic plague a few days later. Diagnosis was confirmed at autopsy.
The two women were patients of Dr. Hernando of Calle Ylaya. He recognized the case of the elder woman as a probable case of plague, after death, and reported the matter to the Bureau of Health.
The house at 1364 C. Sande is of the type in which cases of rat plague and human plague have recently been found. In our operations to put the house in a safe condition we found one dead rat, mummified, in the basement. Unfortunately, the workmen who swept it out did not note the exact location at which it was found. The house is in the midst of the district where rat plague has raged since early in March, 1913. The basement contained unauthorized and illegal sleeping rooms until a few days before this outbreak when they were removed in the course of our antiplague operations. The building is constructed of bamboo with a nipa thatch roof.
The front part of the basement was paved, but the pavement was undermined and broken. Being convinced that dead plague rats were present in the vicinity of this house and probably within it, I directed that the cement floor under the silversmith shop and the barber shop, located upon the ground floor at this address, be torn up. Accordingly, this was done (April 28) and three dead rats and one live one were found beneath the cement. As the bodies were mummified and unfit for bacteriologic examination they were burned. The living rat was examined at the Bureau of Science but was found to be healthy. The cement floor was broken and permitted fleas from the dead rats to enter the basement room of the house which was occupied by the silversmith shop. The rats doubtless died from plague and the hungry fleas in due time attacked the nearest persons at hand, the unfortunate occupants of the silversmith shop and the two women who frequented the room also.
These facts account for the epidemic at 1364 Sande very completely.
The premises at 1364 Calle Sande were quarantined by the following order:
Manila, April 27, 1913.