PLAGUE RETURNS TO GLASGOW

On Friday 24 August 1900, Dr Thomas Colvin attended a sick family named Malloy in Hutchesontown, Glasgow and, being uncertain of the cause of their illness, reported it to the authorities as an infectious disease. Within 24 hours it was confirmed that Glasgow had been visited again by one of the most feared maladies of medieval times: plague (Yersinia Pestis).

The first recorded epidemic of plague in Scotland was in 1350, when it was suggested up to 30 per cent of the population had died. It returned spasmodically until 1647, when the threat caused much of Glasgow’s population, rich and poor, to flee, although the numbers of fatalities were not recorded. Then the disease receded until the middle of the 19th century, when what became known as the ‘third pandemic’ erupted along the Sino-Indian border, spreading only slowly until the 1890s. Increases in trans-oceanic trade were regarded as the catalyst and, by 1898, it was reported in Australia, South America and the USA. Aware it was coming closer, in January 1898 the Local Government Board in Scotland issued a circular on ensuring port regulations were being maintained. This led Dr Archibald Chalmers, Glasgow medical officer of health, to organise limited examination of ships arriving from suspect ports. Then, in July 1899, the disease reached Europe, with the first case being reported at Oporto, Portugal.

Plague returns

By the time Colvin saw the Malloy family, one daughter, Christina, had died, while the mother and two sons had also been affected. They were transferred to Belvidere Infectious Diseases Hospital on the following day, where Dr John Brownlee, superintending physician, took blood samples after observing the buboes, or swellings, typically found in plague victims. Analysis confirmed the diagnosis, and the remainder of the family were placed in isolation in the city reception house at Provan Place, Townhead. The gestation period for the disease was fourteen days and the occupants would be monitored daily throughout this period, being permitted to return home at its termination, if healthy. The Malloys lived at Thistle Street and, three days later, another victim, James Bogan, was admitted from nearby Rose Street. On the same day, a fourth victim, Annie Tierney, was discovered in Oxford Lane, adjacent