Convention Modifying The International Sanitary Convention Of 21 June 1926
Source: Unofficial
THE GOVERNMENTS SIGNATORY HERETO,
CONSIDERING that the International Office of Public Health created by the Agreement signed at Rome on 9 December 1907, is unable for the time being to carry out effectively all of the duties and functions assigned to it in the Annex to that Agreement; in the International Sanitary Convention, 1926; in the International Sanitary Convention for Aerial Navigation, 1933; and in other Conventions or Agreements relating to the public health;
HAVING ENTRUSTED the task of solving this temporary problem by the preparation of emergency agreements and arrangements for the notification of epidemic diseases and for uniformity in quarantine regulations to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (hereinafter referred to as "UNRRA"), in accordance with Resolution No. 8(2) adopted by the Council of UNRRA at its First Session, without prejudice however to the status of the International Office of Public Health which it is hoped will be able at the expiry of the present Convention to resume the above-mentioned duties and functions; and having received the recommendations of UNRRA in this connection;
HAVING AGREED that, in regard to the American Republics, the Pan American Sanitary Bureau shall continue to act as the general coordinating sanitary agency, including the general collection and distribution of sanitary information to and from the said Republics, as specified in the Pan American Sanitary Code and recognized heretofore by the International Office of Public Health;
DESIRING also to modify as between themselves the provisions of the International Sanitary Convention signed in Paris on 21 June 1926, as modified by the Sanitary Convention signed in Paris in 1938, insofar as the provisions of the Convention of 1938 may be in force between the respective Governments (hereinafter referred to as "the 1926 Convention"), in the light of the present-day conditions which call for special measures to prevent the spread by land and sea across frontiers of epidemic or other communicable diseases;
HAVE DECIDED to conclude a Convention for these purposes, have agreed that, whereas the authentic text of the 1926 Convention is in the French language, the present Convention shall be in English and in French, both texts being equally authentic, and have accordingly appointed the undersigned plenipotentiaries who, having communicated their full powers, found in good and due form,
HAVE AGREED that the 1926 Convention shall be amended as follows:
Article I
All references in the 1926 Convention to the International Office of Public Health shall be read as references to UNRRA.
Article II
The second paragraph of Preliminary Provisions (2) shall be deleted and the following substituted:
The word surveillance means that persons are not isolated, that they may move about freely, but that the sanitary authorities of the place or places to which they are proceeding are notified of their coming. They may be subjected in the places of arrival to a medical examination and such inquiries as are necessary with a view to ascertaining their state of health; and, in any territory where the competent Contracting Party thinks fit, surveillance may include requirement to report on arrival and afterwards at such intervals during continuance of surveillance as may be specified, to the Health Officer of the city, town, district, or place to which they proceed.
Article III
The following definitions shall be added to the Preliminary Provisions:
(5) The term typhus, typhus fever, or exanthematous typhus in the 1926 Convention and in the present Convention shall be deemed to relate only to epidemic louse-borne typhus.
(6) The term Stegomyia, Stegomyia (Aëdes aegypti), or Stegomyia calopus (Aëdes aegypti) shall be deemed to include Aëdes aegypti and any potential mosquito vectors of yellow fever.
Article IV
To Article 1 the following shall be added:
Every Contracting Party shall, in addition to the diseases specifically mentioned in this Article, to wit, plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhus, and smallpox, notify to UNRRA outbreaks of such other communicable diseases as, in the opinion of that Party or in the opinion of UNRRA, constitute a menace to other countries by their spread or potential spread across frontiers, and shall keep UNRRA regularly informed of the course of the disease and the measures taken to prevent its spread. The provisions of the 1926 Convention as amended or supplemented by the present Convention shall, unless clearly inapplicable, apply to the above-mentioned other communicable diseases.
Article V
In Article 3 the word "Paris" in the second paragraph shall be deleted and the words "London or Washington" shall be substituted.
To Article 3 the following shall be added:
In order to facilitate the prompt and scrupulous fulfilment of the foregoing provisions, the Contracting Parties shall ensure priority for all communications which may enable UNRRA rapidly to appraise the situation concerning the outbreak of a disease and to inform governments in order that they may take appropriate measures against the spread of the disease across their frontiers.
Article VI
After Article 5 the following shall be inserted:
Article 5A
In addition to carrying out the system of notification and intelligence prescribed in Part I, Chapter I of the 1926 Convention, which remains in full force, the Parties to the present Convention shall transmit promptly to UNRRA the notifications and other information prescribed in Part I of the 1926 Convention.
Article 5B
(1) In addition to the formal notification required above, the Contracting Parties shall, so far as possible, send to the Health Organization of UNRRA at regular intervals notifications of communicable diseases notified in their countries.
(2) The Contracting Parties shall make the necessary arrangements with UNRRA for giving prompt information to all the governments concerned of the outbreak in their respective countries of a disease which, in the opinion of UNRRA, constitutes a menace to other countries and of the measures which are being taken to prevent the spread of the disease across frontiers.
Article VII
To Article 13 the following shall be added:
In a country where there exists a communicable disease, the subject of a formal notification under any international sanitary or quarantine convention for the time being in force, the Sanitary Authority in that country may prohibit the embarkation on board a ship on international voyage of persons suffering from the disease, and of persons in such relations to the sick as to render them liable to transmit the disease, unless the Medical Officer of the port of embarkation is satisfied that measures can be taken on board the ship to prevent the spread of the disease to the other persons on board. The Medical Officer of the port of embarkation, or other authorized officer of the sanitary authority, if he has reason to suspect any clothing, bedding, or other article of personal use which belongs to or is intended for use by persons embarking to be infected, may examine and require the disinfection of any such clothing, bedding, or other article of personal use before it is taken on board.
The measures enumerated in this Article shall be taken as far in advance of the sailing date of the ship as possible in order not unduly to delay the ship's departure.
Nothing in this Article shall affect the power of the Master of the ship to refuse to embark sick persons.
Article VIII
In Article 15 the following shall be inserted between the third and fourth paragraphs:
If on the call or arrival of any ship at a port there is on board a case of infectious disease duly verified by the port medical officer, not being a case of plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhus, or smallpox, the usual measures in force in the country in which the port is situated shall be applied subject always to the provisions of Article 54 of the 1926 Convention.
In carrying out measures for control of the spread of communicable disease across frontiers, particularly in regard to the movement of displaced populations conveyed by international maritime transport, the Contracting Parties will not delay any ship at any point of her voyage longer than is necessary for the medical examination of crew and passengers, for the disembarkation (if such is considered necessary) of persons suffering from communicable disease, and of their bedding and personal effects, and for the disinfection of the accommodation they occupied. The ship shall not be employed as a means of isolation of the sick, or of their contacts, unless such isolation can be effected without delaying or unduly interfering with her movements.
Article IX
The footnote to Article 25 shall be deleted and the following substituted:
IN ALL CASES where this Convention provides for surveillance, surveillance may not be replaced by observation except
(a) in circumstances in which it would not be practicable to carry out surveillance with sufficient thoroughness; or
(b) if the risk of the introduction of infection into the country is considered to be exceptionally serious; or
(c) if the person who would be subject to surveillance cannot furnish adequate sanitary guarantees.
Persons under observation or surveillance shall submit themselves to any examination which the competent sanitary authority may consider necessary.
Article X
In Articles 35(a), 36(4), and 47 the words "200 metres" shall be deleted and the words "400 metres" shall be substituted.
Article XI
To Article 40 the following shall be added:
With a view to the elimination of Stegomyia (Aëdes aegypti) as an important step in the control of the spread of yellow fever, the Contracting Parties shall, in the light of their knowledge and experience of the control of the yellow fever vector, render and maintain free from Stegomyia (Aëdes aegypti) (a) ports and their surroundings in endemic areas, and (b) ports not situated in endemic areas but exposed to the risk of the introduction of the disease. They shall also use their best endeavors to secure that personnel employed in the handling of ships in ports in endemic areas and in ports specially exposed to risk shall be inoculated against yellow fever.
The Contracting Parties agree that all persons inoculated in compliance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph of this Article shall be furnished with and carry an inoculation certificate signed by the officer carrying out the inoculation. This certificate shall conform to the International Form of Certificate of Inoculation against yellow fever annexed hereto.
Persons in possession of a valid anti-yellow fever inoculation certificate shall not for the purpose of the control of yellow fever be subjected to quarantine restrictions.
In place of a valid anti-yellow fever inoculation certificate, a certificate that the bearer has recovered from an attack of yellow fever and that his blood contains immune bodies against yellow fever, as proved by a test carried out by an institute regularly carrying out biological tests for yellow fever and approved for this purpose by the government of the country concerned, will be accepted.
Article XII
In Article 41(4) and (5), before the word "disinsected" the words "disinfected and" shall be inserted.
To Article 41 the following shall be added:
The Contracting Parties will use their best endeavors to secure that ships trading with areas infected with typhus shall carry a sufficient quantity of an effective insecticide for the personal protection of the crew and passengers, and will give favorable consideration to the inoculation against typhus of all persons on board exposed to risk.
Article XIII
Article 42(3) shall be deleted and the following substituted:
(3) Other persons reasonably suspected to have been exposed to infection on board, and who, in the opinion of the sanitary authority, are not sufficiently protected by recent vaccination, or by a previous attack of smallpox, may be subjected to vaccination or to observation or to surveillance, or to vaccination followed by observation or surveillance, the period of observation or surveillance being specified according to the circumstances, but in any event not exceeding 14 days, reckoned from the date of arrival of the ship.
In Article 42 the following shall be inserted as the penultimate paragraph:
For the purpose of this Article "recent vaccination" shall be taken as meaning evidence of successful vaccination not more than 3 years or less than 14 days previously, or evidence of an immune reaction.
To Article 42 shall be added "Vaccination of such persons may be performed".
Article XIV
In Article 43 after the word "crew" in the first paragraph shall be added the words "and passengers".
Article XV
Article 49 shall be deleted and the following substituted:
The Contracting Parties agree that bills of health and consular visas shall be abolished as soon as the conditions of hostilities permit the establishment of effective epidemiological communications. The Master of every foreign-going vessel approaching the first port in a territory shall ascertain the state of health of all persons on board and shall prepare and sign a Declaration of Health which shall be countersigned by the ship's surgeon, if one is carried, to be handed to the appropriate authority.
Article XVI
To Article 57 the following shall be added:
The Contracting Parties will, so far as possible, adopt the International Form of Declaration of Health and the International Forms of Certificates of Inoculation or Vaccination against cholera, typhus, and smallpox, respectively, annexed hereto.*
* With regard to yellow fever see Article XI.
For the purposes of the present Convention the period of incubation is reckoned as 6 days in the case of plague, 5 days in the case of cholera, 6 days in the case of yellow fever, 12 days in the case of typhus, and 14 days in the case of smallpox.
Article XVII
Article 58 shall be deleted and the following substituted:
Observation may, if considered necessary, be enforced at land frontiers. Persons may be directed to the places which have been designated for frontier traffic, and sanitary stations, equipped in accordance with the terms of Article 22 of the 1926 Convention, shall be set up at such places. These places and the measures taken shall be notified immediately to the countries concerned and to UNRRA. Individuals who have been in contact with a person suffering from a disease referred to in Article 1 of the 1926 Convention, and their bedding and effects, may be subjected to the appropriate sanitary measures. In the case of persons suffering from a communicable disease not referred to in Article 1, the measures in force in the country of arrival shall be applied.
Article XVIII
Article 63 shall be deleted and the following substituted:
Railway carriages for mails or luggage and goods trains may not be detained at the frontier longer than is necessary to apply the necessary sanitary measures for the prevention of the entry of communicable diseases into the country concerned.
Article XIX
To Article 65 the following shall be added:
In framing regulations under this Article, the Contracting Parties will consult UNRRA and will inform UNRRA of the regulations and of the date of their entry into force.
Article XX
To Article 66 the following shall be added:
In the application of Articles 58 and 66 inclusive of the 1926 Convention, as amended by the present Convention, to any persons coming within the category of "displaced persons", the Contracting Parties shall be entitled to make such modifications as may be required by any special international arrangements under schemes to be organized by governments and by UNRRA for dealing with such persons.
AND THE CONTRACTING PARTIES HAVE FURTHER AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article XXI
The present Convention shall come into force as soon as it has been signed or acceded to on behalf of ten or more governments.
Article XXII
The present Convention shall supplement and be read as one with the 1926 Convention, which as hereby amended remains in full force between the Contracting Parties, and whenever any provision of the 1926 Convention contains a reference to another provision, the reference shall be deemed to be a reference to that provision as modified by any amendments effected thereto by the present Convention.
Article XXIII
After 15 January 1945 the present Convention shall be open to accession by any government not a signatory. Accessions shall be notified in writing to the Government of the United States of America.
Accessions notified after the entry into force of the present Convention shall become effective with respect to each government upon the notification of its accession.
Article XXIV
Any Contracting Party may on signature or accession declare that the present Convention does not apply to all or any of its colonies, overseas territories, territories under its protection, suzerainty, or authority, or territories in respect of which it exercises a mandate. The present Convention may at any time thereafter be applied to any such territory by notification in writing to the Government of the United States of America, and the Convention shall apply to the territory concerned from the date of the receipt of the notification by the Government of the United States of America.
Article XXV
The Government of the United States of America shall give notice in writing to governments parties to the 1926 Convention and to governments parties to the present Convention, of all signatures and accessions to the present Convention and of all notifications regarding the territories to which the present Convention is to be applied.
Article XXVI
The present Convention shall remain in force as to each Contracting Party until either
(1) such Party shall become bound by a further convention amending or superseding the 1926 Convention, or
(2) the expiration of eighteen months from the date on which the present Convention enters into force,
whichever shall be the earlier.
Article XXVII
The original of the present Convention shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America and shall be opened for signature at Washington on 15 December 1944, where it shall remain open for signature until 15 January 1945. Certified copies hereof shall be furnished by the Government of the United States of America to each of the governments on behalf of which this Convention is signed or acceded to and to each of the governments parties to the 1926 Convention.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, having deposited their full powers, found to be in due and proper form, sign the present Convention in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, on behalf of their respective governments, on the dates appearing opposite their signatures.
[Signatures not reproduced here.]
LIST OF FORMS ATTACHED
1. Maritime Declaration of Health.
2. International Certificate of Inoculation against Cholera.
3. International Certificate of Inoculation against Yellow Fever.
4. International Certificate of Immunity against Yellow Fever.
5. International Certificate of Inoculation against Typhus Fever.
6. International Certificate of Vaccination against Smallpox.
International Sanitary Convention, 1944
MARITIME DECLARATION OF HEALTH
(International Form)
(To be rendered by the masters of ships arriving from ports outside the Territory)
Port of ........................................................ Date ......................................
Name of vessel ........................................... From .................... to .....................
Nationality .................................................. Master's name .................................
Net registered tonnage .................................
Deratization or } Certificate .............................. Dated .............................
deratization } Issued at ...................................................................................
exemption }
No. of } Cabin ...................................... No. of Crew .....................
passengers } Deck .......................................
List of ports of call from commencement of voyage with dates of departure:
_____________________________________
HEALTH QUESTIONS
Answer
yes or no
1. Has there been on board during the voyage* any case or suspected case of plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhus fever, or smallpox? Give particulars in the Schedule.
2. Has plague occurred or been suspected among the rats or mice on board during the voyage*, or has there been an unusual mortality among them?
3. Has any person died on board during the voyage* otherwise than as a result of accident? Give particulars in Schedule.
4. Is there on board or has there been during the voyage* any case of illness which you suspect to be of an infectious nature? Give particulars in Schedule.
5. Is there any sick person on board now? Give particulars in Schedule.
Note: In the absence of a surgeon, the Master should regard the following symptoms as ground for suspecting the existence of infectious disease: fever accompanied by prostration or persisting for several days, or attended with glandular swelling; or any acute skin rash or eruption with or without fever; severe diarrhoea with symptoms of collapse; jaundice accompanied by fever.
6. Are you aware of any other condition on board which may lead to infection or the spread of infectious disease?
I hereby declare that the particulars and answer to the questions given in this Declaration of Health (including the Schedule) are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Signed ...............................................
Master
Countersigned .................................................
Ship's Surgeon
Date .......................................
* If more than 6 weeks have elapsed since the voyage began, it will suffice to give particulars for the last 6 weeks. [Footnote appeared in original text.]
SCHEDULE TO THE DECLARATION
Particulars of every case of illness or death occurring on board
Name
Class or rating
Age
Sex
Nationality
Port of embark-ation
Date of embark-ation
Nature of illness
Date of its onset
Results of illness*
Disposal of case**
* State whether recovered; still ill; died.
** State whether still on board; landed at (give name of port); buried at sea. [Footnotes appeared in original text.]
International Sanitary Convention, 1944
INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF INOCULATION AGAINST CHOLERA
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT ............................................................................................ (Age ............ Sex .............) whose signature appears below was on the dates indicated inoculated against cholera.
Date
Material
Inoculating officer
Origin
Batch no. and type
Signature
Official title
................................................................... .........................................................
(Signature of person inoculated) (Home address)
.........................................................
(Date)
Official Stamp of
Inoculating Officer
(This certificate is not valid for more than 6 months from date of issue)
International Sanitary Convention, 1944
INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF INOCULATION
AGAINST YELLOW FEVER
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT ............................................................................................ (Age ............ Sex .............) whose signature appears below has this day been inoculated by me against yellow fever.
Origin and batch no. of vaccine ..................................................................................
Signature of inoculating officer .....................................................................................
Official position ...........................................................................................................
Place ............................................................. Date ............................................
..................................................................... ...........................................................
(Signature of person inoculated) (Home address)
Official Stamp of
Inoculating Officer
Footnote:
This certificate is not valid:
(a) unless the vaccine and the method employed have been approved by UNRRA;
(b) until 10 days after the date of the inoculation except in the case of persons reinoculated within 4 years;
(c) for more than 4 years from the date of the last inoculation. [Footnote appeared in original text.]
International Sanitary Convention, 1944
INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF IMMUNITY AGAINST YELLOW FEVER
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT ............................................................................................... (Age ........... Sex ..............) whose signature appears below is immune to yellow fever as the result of an attack of the disease. This immunity has been demonstrated by the mouse protection test.
Date of bleeding .................................. Place of bleeding .......................................
Name of laboratory performing test ..............................................................................
Location of laboratory .................................................................................................
Date of test .................................................................................................................
Result of test ...............................................................................................................
Signature of Laboratory Director .................................................................................
Official Stamp of
Laboratory
..........................................................
(Signature of person tested)
..........................................................
(Home address)
Footnote:
This certificate is not valid:
(a) unless the laboratory performing the blood test and the method employed have been approved by UNRRA;
(b) for more than ten years from the date of the blood test. [Footnotes appeared in original text.]
International Sanitary Convention, 1944
INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF INOCULATION
AGAINST TYPHUS FEVER
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT ............................................................................................ (Age ............ Sex .............) whose signature appears below was on the dates indicated inoculated against typhus fever.
Date
Material
Inoculating officer
Origin
Batch no. and type
Signature
Official title
................................................................... .........................................................
(Signature of person inoculated) (Home address)
.........................................................
(Date)
Official Stamp of
Inoculating Officer
(This certificate is not valid for more than 1 year from date of issue)
International Sanitary Convention, 1944
INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF VACCINATION AGAINST SMALLPOX
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT ................................................................................................. (Age ............... Sex...............) whose signature appears below has this day been vaccinated by me against smallpox.
Origin and batch no. of vaccine .........................................................................................
Signature of vaccinator .....................................................................
Official
Official position ...............................................................................
Stamp
Place ............................................... Date ..........................................
Signature of person vaccinated ...........................................................................................
Home address ....................................................................................................................
Important Note.
In the case of primary vaccination the person vaccinated should be warned to report to a medical practitioner between the 8th and 14th day, in order that the result of the vaccination may be recorded on this certificate. In the case of revaccination the person should report within 48 hours for first inspection in order that any immune reaction which has developed may be recorded.
___________________________________________
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT the above vaccination was inspected by me on the date(s) and with the results(s) shown hereunder:
Date of inspection Result
................................................................... ...........................................................
................................................................... ............................................................
Signature of doctor ..............................................................................
Official
Official position ...................................................................................
Stamp
Place ............................................... Date ..........................................
Use one or other of the following terms in stating the result, viz: "Reaction of immunity", "Accelerated reaction (vaccinoid)", "Typical primary vaccinia". A certificate of "No reaction" will not be accepted.
Signature of person vaccinated ...........................................................................
(This certificate is not valid for more than 3 years from date of issue)
