A Study Of The Plague In Hong Kong In 1894

The 1894 witnessed an unprecedented plague in Hong Kong. By researching the background of this plague, we can reach a conclusion that the outburst of it was related to the characteristics of Hong Kong's geography and climate, and to the other factors, such as - in nineteen century, especially in later nineteen century - Hong Kong's social and economic development, flourish of shipping business, increase of population and frequent circulation of residents. Affected by all these factors, the pathogen of plague was taken into Hong Kong and led to a violent outburst in 1894 which brought a serious catastrophe to Hong Kong: many people died from the pestilence, social economy suffered a severe repression, and the residents were shocked by the catastrophe which resulted in the panic and chaos of the whole society. After the outburst of plague, personalities of all circles took many effective measures: Hong Kong government took charge of affairs of disaster relief, laid down a rational plan of relief, cured the patients positively and paid attention to the disinfection treatment of disaster area; philanthropic constitutes in Hong Kong - mainly the Tung Wah hospital - also made great efforts to relieve the disaster; and the residents in Hong Kong - especially the patients - saved themselves by many ways, too. By the efforts of personalities of all circles, the pestilence was under controlled. And after this catastrophe, Hong Kong government began to attach importance to affairs of public health, which is good for the municipal construction in the long run. In addition, by studying the pestilence, medical workers found the source of pathogen of plague, and laid a foundation for overcoming the plague eventually.This dissertation comprehensively observes and studies the plague of Hong Kong in 1894 from many points of view, such as medical science, sociology and psychology.The topic of the dissertation is on the serious plague, but the author doesn't limit his viewpoint in the plague itself. The author demonstrates many aspects which are related to the plague, including its natural place of origin, its reasons, its means of spreading and its power of infection, so as to show the importance and complexity of the plague of Hong Kong in 1894. At last, the focal point of the dissertation is on the interaction between the plague and the society at that time, especially on the respects such as the background of the outburst of plague, the effects of the plague on the Hong Kong society and the measures taken by the government as well as all the circles of the society.