International Sanitary Convention on Cholera and the Plague
Source: Unofficial Text
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India; His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia, in the name of the German Empire; His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc, and Apostolic King of Hungary, His Majesty the King of the Belgians; the President of the United States of Brazil; His Majesty the King of Spain; the President of the United States of America; the President of the French Republic; His Majesty the King of the Hellenes; His Majesty the King of Italy; His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxemburg; His Royal Highness the Prince of Montenegro; Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands; His Majesty the Shah of Persia; His Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves; His Majesty the King of Roumania; His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias; His Majesty the King of Servia; the Swiss Federal Council; and His Highness the Khedive of Egypt, in accordance with the powers invested in him by the Imperial Firmans,
Having deemed it expedient to determine, by means of an Agreement, the measures necessary to safeguard the public health against the invasion and spread of plague and cholera, and desiring also to revise and complete the International Sanitary Conventions actually in force, have named as their Plenipotentiaries, that is to say:
[Names of plenipotentiaries not listed here.]
Who, after having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:
PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I
PROVISIONS TO BE OBSERVED BY THE COUNTRIES SIGNING THE CONVENTION ON THE APPEARANCE OF PLAGUE OR CHOLERA IN THEIR TERRITORY
Section I
Notification and subsequent communications to the other countries
Article 1
Every Government must immediately notify to the other Governments the first appearance of recognized cases of plague or cholera in its territory.
Article 2
Such notification shall be accompanied or very promptly followed by detailed information as to:
(1) Where the disease has appeared;
(2) The date of its appearance, its source, and its type;
(3) The number of known cases and deaths;
(4) In the case of plague, the presence of that disease or of unusual mortality among rats or mice;
(5) The measures taken immediately on the first appearance of the disease.
Article 3
The notification and the information prescribed in Articles 1 and 2 shall be supplied to the diplomatic or consular agencies in the capital of the infected country.
In the case of countries not represented there, the notification and the information shall be telegraphed direct to the Governments of these countries.
Article 4
The notification and the information prescribed in Articles 1 and 2 shall be followed by subsequent communications furnished regularly and in such fashion as to keep the Governments informed of the course of the epidemic.
These communications shall be made at least once a week, shall be as complete as possible, and shall, in particular, indicate the precautions adopted with a view to prevent the spread of the disease.
They must set out with precision: (1) the preventive measures taken in the way of sanitary inspection or of medical investigation, of isolation, and of disinfection; (2) the measures adopted in the case of outgoing vessels to prevent exportation of the disease, and, particularly, in the case contemplated in Article 2(4), the measures taken against rats.
Article 5
It is of primary importance that the foregoing provisions be promptly and scrupulously complied with.
Notification is of no real value unless every Government be itself informed, in time, of cases of plague and cholera and also of doubtful cases occurring in its territory. It cannot, therefore, be too strongly impressed on the several Governments that they should make notification of plague and cholera compulsory, and that they should keep themselves informed as to any unusual mortality among rats or mice, particularly in ports.
Article 6
It is to be understood that neighbouring countries reserve to themselves the right to make special arrangements with the object of organizing direct exchange of information between the principal administrative officers on their frontiers.
Section II
The conditions under which a local area may be regarded as infected or as having ceased to be infected
Article 7
The notification of a first case of plague or cholera shall not lead to the adoption of the measures prescribed in the following Chapter II against the local area in which the case has occurred.
But when several non-imported cases of plague have occurred, or when the cases of cholera constitute a foyer, the local area shall be declared infected.
Article 8
In order that the measures be limited to places which are infected, the Governments must apply them to arrivals from infected local areas only.
"Local area" means a portion of territory clearly defined in the information that accompanies or follows notification - as, for instance, a province, a "government", a district, a department, a canton, an island, a commune, a town, a quarter in a town, a village, a port, a polder, an agglomeration, etc, whatever may be the extent and population of these portions of territory.
But this limitation to the infected local area must be accepted only on the definite condition that the Government of the infected country take the measures necessary (a) for preventing the export of the things specified in Article 12(1) and (2) derived from the infected local area, unless previously disinfected, and (b) for checking the spread of the epidemic.
When a local area is infected, no restrictive measure shall be taken against arrivals from that local area, if they have left it not less than five days before the beginning of the epidemic.
Article 9
In order that a local area cease to be regarded as infected it must be officially established-
(1) That no death from nor fresh case of plague or cholera has occurred within the five days following either the isolation[1] or death or recovery of the last case of plague or cholera;
(2) That all measures of disinfection have been carried out, and that, in the case of plague, measures have been taken against rats.
CHAPTER II
MEASURES OF DEFENCE, ON THE PART OF THE OTHER COUNTRIES, AGAINST TERRITORIES THAT HAVE BEEN DECLARED INFECTED
Section I
Publication of measures prescribed
Article 10
The Government of each country shall immediately make public the measures which it considers necessary to prescribe with regard to arrivals from an infected country or local area.
It shall forthwith communicate these measures to the diplomatic or consular agent of the infected country resident in the capital, and also to the International Sanitary Boards.
It shall also communicate, through the same channels, the withdrawal of these measures or any modifications of them. In the absence of a diplomatic or consular agency in the capital, the communications shall be made direct to the Government of the country concerned.
Section II
Merchandise - Disinfection - Importation and transit - Baggage
Article 11
No article of merchandise is in itself capable of conveying plague or cholera. Merchandise becomes dangerous only when contaminated by plague or cholera products.
Article 12
Only such merchandise and things as the local sanitary authority considers infected may be subjected to disinfection.
Provided always that the merchandise or things hereinafter specified may be subjected to disinfection or their importation may even be prohibited, irrespective of any evidence as to whether or not they are infected:
(1) Body-linen, wearing apparel, bedding that has been in use.
But when these things are carried as baggage, or in consequence of a change of abode (household goods), their importation may not be prohibited, but they shall be dealt with as prescribed in Article 19.
Soldiers' and sailors' kits, returned to their country after their death, are to be regarded as of the nature of the things specified in the first sentence of (1) of this Article.
(2) Rags, save, in the case of cholera, rags compressed and carried in bound bales as merchandise in bulk.
The importation of the following articles may not be prohibited: Fresh waste derived directly from spinning, weaving, making up or bleaching establishments; artificial wools (Kunstwolle, shoddy) and new paper clippings.
Article 13
The transit of the merchandise and things specified in (1) and (2) of the foregoing Article may not be prohibited if they are packed so that they cannot be manipulated on the way. Similarly, when such merchandise and things have been so conveyed that they cannot have come into contact with contaminated articles on the way, their transit through an infected local area must not hinder their importation into the country to which they are consigned.
Article 14
Importation of the merchandise and things specified in (1) and (2) of Article 12 shall not be prohibited if it be proved to the authority of the country to which they are consigned that they were despatched not less than five days before the commencement of the epidemic.
Article 15
It rests with the authority of the country to which the merchandise and things are consigned to decide in what manner and at what place disinfection shall be carried out, and what shall be the methods adopted to secure destruction of rats. These operations must be performed in such fashion as to injure articles as little as possible.
It rests with each State to settle questions of consequent compensation for damage caused by measures of disinfection or of rat-destruction.
If, on account of measures taken to secure destruction of rats on board ship, charges are levied by the sanitary authority either directly or indirectly through a company or a private person, the rates of these charges must be in accordance with a tariff made public beforehand, and so drawn up that the State or the sanitary authority shall, on the whole, derive no profit from its application.
Article 16
Letters and correspondence, printed matter, books, newspapers, business documents, etc (not including parcels conveyed by post), shall not be subject to disinfection or to any restriction whatsoever.
Article 17
Merchandise, whether it has come by land or by sea, may not be detained at frontiers or at ports.
The only measures that may be taken are those specified in the foregoing Article 12.
Provided always that if merchandise, which has come by sea and is either not packed or imperfectly packed, has become infected during the voyage by rats ascertained to have plague, and if such merchandise cannot be disinfected, the destruction of the germs may be secured by storing the merchandise during a period not to exceed two weeks.
It is to be understood that the application of this measure shall not in any way delay the ship nor give rise to extra expenses by reason of deficient storage accommodation in any port.
Article 18
When merchandise has undergone disinfection in accordance with the provisions of Article 12, or has been temporarily stored in virtue of the proviso contained in Article 17, the proprietor of such merchandise or his representative has the right to exact from the sanitary authority that has ordered the disinfection or the storage, a certificate showing the measures that have been taken.
Article 19
Baggage - Soiled linen, clothing and articles carried as baggage or as household goods, from a local area declared to be infected, shall undergo disinfection only in those instances where the sanitary authority considers them infected.
Section III
Measures at ports and land frontiers
Article 20
Classification of ships - A ship shall be regarded as infected if there is a plague or cholera on board or if there have been one or more cases of plague or cholera on board within seven days.
A ship shall be regarded as suspected if there have been cases of plague or cholera on board at the time of departure or during the voyage, but no fresh case within seven days.
A ship shall be regarded as healthy, notwithstanding its having come from an infected port, if there has been no death from nor case of plague or cholera on board either before departure or during the voyage or on arrival.
Article 21
In the case of plague, infected ships shall undergo the following measures:
(1) Medical inspection;
(2) The sick shall immediately be disembarked and isolated;
(3) The other persons must also be disembarked if possible, and either be kept under observation[2] during a period which shall not exceed five days and which may or may not be followed by surveillance[3] of not more than five days' duration, or merely be subjected to surveillance during a period which shall not exceed ten days.
The period shall date from the arrival of the ship. It rests with the sanitary authority of the port, after taking into consideration the date of the last case, the condition of the ship, and the local possibilities, to take that one of these measures which seems to them preferable;
(4) Such soiled linen, wearing apparel, and articles belonging to the crew[4] and passengers as are, in the opinion of the sanitary authority, infected shall be disinfected;
(5) The parts of the ship that have been occupied by persons ill with plague, or that, in the opinion of the sanitary authority, are infected, must be disinfected;
(6) The rats on board must be destroyed, either before or after discharge of cargo, as quickly as possible, and, in any case, within a maximum time of forty-eight hours, and so as to avoid damage to merchandise and to the ship's plating and engines. In the case of ships in ballast, this process must be carried out as soon as possible before taking cargo.
Article 22
In the case of plague, suspected ships shall undergo the measures specified in (1), (4), and (5) of Article 21.
In addition, the crew and passengers may be subjected to surveillance, the duration of which, dating from the arrival of the ship, shall not exceed five days. The crew may, during the same period, be prevented from leaving the ship except on duty.
Destruction of rats on board is recommended. This process shall be carried out, either before or after discharge of cargo, as quickly as possible, and, in any case, within a maximum time of forty-eight hours, and so as to avoid damage to merchandise and to the ship's plating and engines.
In the case of ships in ballast, this process, if there be occasion for it, shall be carried out as soon as possible, and, in any case, before taking cargo.
Article 23
In the case of plague, healthy ships shall be given free pratique immediately, whatever their bill of health may be.
The only measures which the authority of the port of arrival may take as regards these ships are the following:
(1) Medical inspection;
(2) Disinfection of soiled linen, wearing-apparel, and other articles belonging to the crew and passengers, but only in exceptional instances, when the sanitary authority has special reasons for regarding them as infected;
(3) The sanitary authority may subject ships from an infected port to a process intended to secure destruction of rats on board, either before or after discharge of cargo, although this measure must not be resorted to as a general rule. This process must be carried out as soon as possible, and, in any case, must not take longer than twenty-four hours, and so as to avoid damage to merchandise and to the ship's plating and engines, and also so as not to interfere with the coming and going of passengers and crew between ship and shore. In the case of ships in ballast, the process, if there be occasion for it, shall be carried out as soon as possible, and, in any case, before taking cargo.
If a ship from an infected port has been subjected to measures of rat-destruction, these cannot be repeated unless the ship has called at an infected port and has there brought up to the quay, or unless sick or dead rats are found on board.
The crew and passengers may be subjected to surveillance during a period which shall not exceed five days reckoned from the date on which the ship left the infected port. The crew may, during the same period, be prevented from leaving the ship, except on duty.
The competent authority at the port of arrival may, in all cases, exact a certificate, given on oath, from the doctor of the ship, or, in his default, from the captain, testifying that there has not been a case of plague on board since departure and that unusual mortality among rats has not been observed.
Article 24
When rats on a healthy ship have been shown by bacteriological examination to have plague, or when unusual mortality among these rodents has been observed, the measures to adopt are as follows:
I. Ships with rats having plague:
(a) Medical inspection;
(b) The rats must be destroyed, either before or after discharge of cargo, as quickly as possible, and, in any case, within a maximum time of forty-eight hours, and so as to avoid damage to merchandise and to the ship's plating and engines. Ships in ballast shall undergo this process as soon as possible, and, in any case, before taking cargo;
(c) Such parts of the ship and such articles as the local sanitary authority regards as infected shall be disinfected;
(d) The passengers and crew may be subjected to surveillance during a period which must not exceed five days reckoned from the date of arrival, save in exceptional instances, in which the sanitary authority may prolong the surveillance up to not more than ten days.
II. Ships on which unusual mortality among rats has been observed:
(a) Medical inspection;
(b) The rats shall be examined for plague as far and as quickly as possible;
(c) If it be considered necessary to destroy the rats, such destruction shall take place subject to the conditions specified above as regards ships with rats having plague;
(d) Until all suspicion shall have been removed, the passengers and crew may be subjected to surveillance for a period which shall not exceed five days reckoned from the date of arrival, save in exceptional instances, in which the sanitary authority may prolong the surveillance up to not more than ten days.
Article 25
The sanitary authority of the port shall, whenever requested, furnish the captain, the ship owner, or the ship owner's agent, with a certificate stating that measures of rat-destruction have been carried out, and giving the reasons why they were resorted to.
Article 26
In the case of cholera, infected ships shall undergo the following measures:
(1) Medical inspection;
(2) The sick shall be immediately disembarked and isolated;
(3) The other persons must also be disembarked, if possible, and either be kept under observation or subjected to surveillance during a period which shall vary with the health conditions of the ship and the date of the last case, but which shall not exceed five days reckoned from the arrival of the ship;
(4) Such soiled linen, wearing-apparel, and articles belonging to the crew and passengers as are, in the opinion of the sanitary authority of the port, infected shall be disinfected;
(5) The parts of the ship that have been occupied by persons ill with cholera, or that the sanitary authority regard as infected, shall be disinfected;
(6) The bilge-water shall be disinfected and pumped out.
The sanitary authority may order that a supply of wholesome drinking water be substituted for that stored on board.
Casting human excreta, or allowing them to pass, without preliminary disinfection, into the waters of the port may be prohibited.
Article 27
In the case of cholera, suspected ships shall undergo the measures prescribed in (1), (4), (5) and (6) of Article 26.
The crew and passengers may be subjected to surveillance during a period which must not exceed five days reckoned from the arrival of the ship. It is recommended that the crew be prevented, during the same period, from leaving the ship except on duty.
Article 28
In the case of cholera, healthy ships shall be given free pratique immediately, whatever their bill of health may be.
The only measures that the authority of the port of arrival may prescribe as regards these ships are those specified in (1), (4) and (6) of Article 26.
The crew and passengers may be subjected to surveillance, in respect of their state of health, during a period which must not exceed five days reckoned from the date on which the ship left the infected port. It is recommended that the crew be prevented, during the same period, from leaving the ship except on duty.
The competent authority at the port of arrival may, in all cases, exact a certificate, given on oath, from the doctor of the ship or, in his default, from the captain, testifying that there has not been a case of cholera on board since departure.
Article 29
In applying the measures specified in Articles 21-28, the fact of a ship of any of the three classes before-mentioned carrying a doctor and disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chambers) shall receive due consideration on the part of the competent authority. In the case of plague, like consideration shall be given when the ship is provided with apparatus for the destruction of rats.
The sanitary authorities of States that find it convenient to come to an agreement on the matter, may dispense with medical inspection and other measures in the case of healthy ships carrying a doctor specially commissioned by their country.
Article 30
Special measures may be prescribed as regards ships that are overcrowded, and more especially as regards emigrant ships, or any other ship in an unsanitary condition.
Article 31
Ships refusing to submit to measures prescribed by a port authority, in virtue of the provisions of this Convention, shall be at liberty to put out to sea. Such ships may be permitted to land goods after the following necessary precautions have been taken, viz:
(1) Isolation of the ship, crew, and passengers;
(2) In the case of plague, request for information as to whether there has been any unusual mortality among rats on board;
(3) In the case of cholera, disinfection and evacuation of the bilge-water and the substitution of wholesome drinking water for that stored on board.
Such ships may also be authorized to disembark passengers at their request, on the condition that such passengers submit to the measures prescribed by the local authority.
Article 32
Ships from an infected place, that have been disinfected and have undergone adequate sanitary measures, shall not, on their arrival in another port, be subjected to these measures a second time, if no case has occurred since the disinfection was performed and if they have not called at an infected port. A ship which has merely disembarked passengers and their baggage or mails, without having been in communication with the shore, shall not be regarded as having called at the port.
Article 33
Passengers arriving by an infected ship are entitled to exact from the sanitary authority of the port a certificate showing the date of their arrival and the measures taken as regards themselves and their baggage.
Article 34
Coasting traffic shall be dealt with by special regulations to be agreed upon by the countries concerned.
Article 35
Without prejudice to the right of Governments to agree to establish sanitary stations in common, every country must provide at least one port on each of its seaboards with an organization and an equipment sufficient for the reception of a ship, whatever its health-conditions may be.
It is recommended that, when a healthy ship from an infected port arrives in a large sea port, such ship should not be sent away to another port with a view to the carrying out of the sanitary measures prescribed.
In every country, the ports open to arrivals from ports infected with plague or cholera must be so equipped that healthy ships can there undergo the prescribed measures upon their arrival and be not sent to another port for the purpose. Governments shall make known what ports in their country are open to arrivals from ports infected with plague or cholera.
Article 36
It is recommended that there be provided in large sea-ports:
(a) A properly organized port medical service and permanent medical supervision of the health conditions of crews and of the population of the port;
(b) Suitable accommodation for the isolation of the sick and for keeping suspected persons under observation;
(c) Bacteriological laboratories and the buildings and plant necessary for efficient disinfection;
(d) A supply of drinking water of quality above suspicion at the disposal of the port, and a system of scavenging that offers every possible guarantee for the removal of excrement and refuse.
Section IV
Measures at land frontiers - Travellers - Railways - Frontier tracts - Riverways
Article 37
Land quarantine must no longer be resorted to. Only such persons as show symptoms of plague or of cholera may be detained at frontiers.
This principle does not deprive a State of the right to close a portion of its frontiers in case of need.
Article 38
It is important that the railway staff keep watch over the state of health of travellers.
Article 39
Medical intervention shall be limited to inspection of travellers and care of the sick. When this inspection is resorted to, it shall, as far as possible, be combined with the Customs' examination in order that travellers may suffer as little delay as possible. Only those persons who are visibly ailing shall be subjected to a thorough medical examination.
Article 40
It is a measure of the greatest value to subject travellers that have come from an infected place, on their arrival at their destination, to surveillance for a period which should not exceed ten or five days, reckoned from the date of their departure, in the case of plague or cholera respectively.
Article 41
Governments have the right reserved to them of taking special measures in regard of certain classes of persons, notably gipsies, vagrants, emigrants, and persons travelling or crossing the frontier in bands.
Article 42
Railway carriages for passengers, mails or luggage may not be detained at a frontier. If one of these carriages be infected or shall have been occupied by a person suffering from plague or from cholera, it shall be detached from the train for disinfection at the earliest possible moment. The same procedure shall apply in the case of goods trucks.
Article 43
Measures in relation with the crossing of frontiers by railway and postal staff come within the scope of the administrations concerned. They should be arranged so as not to hamper the service.
Article 44
The regulation of frontier traffic and questions connected therewith, as also the adoption of exceptional measures of surveillance, must be left as matters for special arrangement between adjoining States.
Article 45
The sanitary control of riverways is a matter for special arrangement by the Governments of States abutting thereon.
PART II
SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING COUNTRIES OUTSIDE EUROPE
CHAPTER I
ARRIVALS BY SEA
Section I
Measures at infected ports on the departure of vessels
Article 46
The competent authority shall take effectual measures to prevent the embarkation of persons showing symptoms of plague or of cholera.
Every person taking passage by a ship must be individually examined at the time of embarkation, by day and on shore, during such time as may be necessary, by a doctor appointed by the public authority. The consular authority of the country to which the ship belongs may be represented at this examination.
In exception of this provision, the medical examination may, at Alexandria and Port Said, take place on board whenever the local sanitary authority consider this course to be of service; subject, however, to the reservation that third-class passengers shall not afterwards be authorized to leave the ship. The medical examination may be conducted by night in the case of first-class and second-class passengers, but not in the case of third-class passengers.
Article 47
The competent authority shall take effectual measures-
(1) To prevent the exportation of such merchandise or articles of any sort as it may regard as infected and which have not previously been disinfected on shore under the supervision of a doctor appointed by the public authority;
(2) In the case of plague, to prevent rats gaining access to ships;
(3) In the case of cholera, to see that drinking water taken on board is wholesome.
Section II
Measures regarding ordinary ships from infected northern ports on their arrival at the entrance to the Suez Canal or at Egyptian ports
Article 48
Ordinary healthy ships from a port, infected with plague or with cholera, in Europe or in the Mediterranean basin, proposing to pass through the Suez Canal, shall be granted passage in quarantine, and shall continue their voyage under five days' observation.
Article 49
Ordinary healthy ships, wishing to touch at Egypt, may put in at Alexandria or Port Said, where their passengers shall complete the period of five days' observation, either on board or in a sanitary station, as the local sanitary authority may decide.
Article 50
The measures to be taken as regards infected and suspected ships from a European or Mediterranean port infected with plague or with cholera wishing to touch at an Egyptian port or to pass through the Suez Canal shall be settled by the Egyptian Sanitary Board in conformity with the provisions of this Convention. The Regulations embodying these measures must, to become effective, be accepted by the several Powers represented on the Board: they shall establish the measures to which ships, passengers and merchandise are to be subjected, and must be submitted with the least possible delay.
Section III
Measures in the Red Sea
A. Measures regarding ordinary ships from the south touching at Red Sea ports or bound for the Mediterranean
Article 51
In addition to the general provisions comprised in Part I, Chapter II, Section III, concerning the classification of ships as infected, suspected or healthy, and the measures regarding them, the special provisions, embodied in the following Articles, shall apply to ordinary ships entering the Red Sea from the south.
Article 52
Healthy ships must have completed or must complete five full days' observation reckoned from the time of their departure from the last infected port touched at.
They shall be entitled to pass through the Suez Canal in quarantine, and shall enter the Mediterranean continuing the abovementioned five days' observation. Ships with a doctor and a disinfecting chamber shall not undergo disinfection prior to the passage in quarantine.
Article 53
Suspected ships shall be treated in a manner which shall differ according as to whether they have or have not a doctor and a disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber).
(a) Those that have a doctor and a disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber) that fulfils the requisite conditions shall be allowed to pass through the Suez Canal in quarantine, subject to the regulations prescribed for the passage.
(b) Those that have neither doctor nor disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber) shall, before being allowed to pass through the Canal in quarantine, be detained at Suez or at Moses' Wells for such time as may be necessary for the performance of the disinfection prescribed and for assurance that the health conditions on board are satisfactory.
Passage in quarantine shall be granted to mail boats or packets specially devoted to passenger traffic that have a doctor but not disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber), if it be officially established to the satisfaction of the local authority that cleansing and disinfection have been properly carried out at the place of departure or during the voyage.
Free pratique may be granted at Suez, on the termination of the procedure prescribed by the regulations, to mail boats or packets specially devoted to passenger traffic that have a doctor but no disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber) if the last case of plague or cholera occurred more than seven days before and if the health conditions of the ship are satisfactory.
In the case of a vessel that has had a healthy voyage of less than seven days' duration, passengers for Egypt shall be landed at an establishment appointed by the Alexandria Board and isolated for such time as may be necessary for the completion of five days' observation. Their soiled linen and their wearing apparel shall be disinfected. They shall then be granted free pratique.
Ships that have had a healthy voyage of less than seven days' duration and that wish to have free pratique for Egypt shall be detained at an establishment, appointed by the Alexandria Board, during such time as may be necessary for the completion of five days' observation; they shall undergo the measures prescribed by the regulations for suspected vessels.
When plague or cholera has occurred among the crew only, no soiled linen shall be disinfected save that of the crew, the whole of which, however, shall undergo disinfection; the crew's quarters shall also be disinfected.
Article 54
Infected ships shall be divided into two classes: ships with a doctor and a disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber), and ships without a doctor and without a disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber).
(a) Ships without a doctor and without a disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber) shall be detained at Moses' Wells;[5] persons that show symptoms of plague or cholera shall be disembarked and isolated in a hospital. Disinfection shall be thoroughly carried out. The other persons shall be disembarked and isolated in as small groups as possible, so that, if plague or cholera break out in one group, the whole party will not be affected. The soiled linen and the clothing of passengers and crew, and other articles used by them, shall be disinfected, as also shall the ship.
It is to be understood that there is no question of discharging merchandise, but only of disinfecting the infected part of the ship.
The passengers shall remain five days at an establishment appointed by the Egyptian Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board. When cases of plague and cholera have not occurred for several days the term of isolation shall be shortened. Its duration shall vary according to the date of recovery, death, or isolation of the last case. Thus, if six days have elapsed since the recovery, death or isolation of the last case, the period of observation shall be one day; if only five days have elapsed, the period shall be two days; if only four days have elapsed, the period shall be three days; if only three days have elapsed, the period shall be four days; if only two days or one day have elapsed, the period shall be five days.
(b) Ships with a doctor and a disinfecting apparatus (disinfecting chamber) shall be detained at Moses' Wells. The ship's doctor must state, on oath, which persons on board have symptoms of plague or of cholera. These persons shall be disembarked and isolated.
After these persons have been disembarked, such of the soiled linen of the other passengers as the sanitary authority regards as dangerous and that of the crew shall be disinfected on board. When plague or cholera has occurred only among the crew, the disinfection of linen shall be carried out only as regards the soiled linen of the crew and the linen of the crew's quarters.
The ship's doctor must also declare, on oath which part or compartment of the ship was occupied by the sick and to which section of the hospital they were removed. He must also declare, on oath, which persons have been in relation with the plague or cholera patient since the first appearance of the disease, either by direct contact or by contact with objects that may have been infected. Only these persons shall be regarded as suspected.
The part or compartment of the ship and the section of the hospital that have been occupied by the sick shall be thoroughly disinfected. "Part of the ship" shall mean the cabin of the sick person, the adjoining cabins, the passage to these cabins, the deck, the parts of the deck where the sick person or persons have remained for some time.
If it be impossible to disinfect the part or compartment of the ship that has been occupied by plague or cholera sick without disembarking the persons declared to be suspected, these persons shall either be transferred to another ship specially reserved for the purpose, or be landed and accommodated in the sanitary station without being brought into contact with the sick, who must be kept in the hospital.
This stay on board ship or on shore, for purposes of disinfection, shall be as short as possible, and shall not exceed twenty four hours.
The suspected persons shall be kept under observation, either on their own ship or on the ship reserved for that purpose, for a period which shall vary according to the circumstances and in the manner set out in the third paragraph of sub-section (a) of this Article.
The time occupied in carrying out the measures prescribed by the regulations shall be included in the observation period.
Passage in quarantine may, if deemed possible by the sanitary authority, be allowed before expiry of the periods of detention indicated above. It shall in any case be granted on the completion of disinfection if the ship leaves behind, in addition to its sick, the persons classed above as "suspected".
A barge fitted with a disinfecting chamber shall be brought alongside the ship with a view to hastening the process of disinfection.
Infected vessels seeking free pratique in Egypt shall be detained five days at Moses' Wells; they shall, in addition, undergo the same measures as are taken in the case of infected ships arriving in Europe.
B. Measures regarding ordinary ships from infected ports in the Hedjaz during the pilgrimage season
Article 55
If, during the Mecca pilgrimage, plague or cholera is prevalent in the Hedjaz, ships from the Hedjaz or from any other part of the Arabian coast of the Red Sea that have not there taken on board any pilgrims or like collections of persons, and on which there has been no suspicious incident during the voyage, shall be classed as ordinary suspected ships, and shall be subjected to the preventive measures and the treatment prescribed for such ships.
If they are bound for Egypt they shall undergo, at a sanitary station appointed by the Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board, five days' observation, reckoned from the date of their departure, whether it be cholera or plague that is in question. They shall, moreover, be subjected to all the measures prescribed for suspected ships (disinfection, etc), and shall not be granted free pratique until after favourable medical inspection.
It is to be understood that, if there have been suspicious incidents on board during the voyage, the period of observation shall be undergone at Moses' Wells, and shall be five days, whether it be cholera or plague that is in question.
Section IV
The organization for securing surveillance and disinfection at Suez and at Moses' Wells
Article 56
Every ship arriving at Suez shall undergo the medical inspection prescribed by the regulations. This inspection shall be conducted by one or more of the doctors attached to the station, and shall, in the case of ships from a port infected with plague or with cholera, be made by day. It may, however, in the case of ships wishing to pass through the Canal, take place by night when the ship is lighted by electricity, and in all cases in which the local sanitary authority is satisfied that the ship is sufficiently well lighted.
Article 57
There shall be at least seven doctors at the Suez station - a principal medical officer and six medical officers. They must hold a recognized diploma, and, in their selection, preference is to be given to medical men who have made a special study of practical epidemiology and practical bacteriology. They shall be appointed by the Minister of the Interior, on the recommendation of the Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board of Egypt.
The salary of the medical officers shall commence at 8,000 fr., and rise by progressive increments to 12,000 fr.; that of the principal medical officer shall commence at 12,000 fr. and rise to 15,000 fr.
Should this medical staff prove insufficient, naval doctors of the several States may be employed under the orders of the principal medical officer of the sanitary station.
Article 58
The supervision and performance of the Suez Canal prophylactic measures at the Moses' Wells and Tor stations shall be entrusted to a staff of sanitary guards.
Article 59
This staff shall consist of ten guards.
They shall be selected from retired non-commissioned officers, of higher than corporal's rank, of the armies and navies of Europe and Egypt.
These guards are elected, after the Board is satisfied as to their fitness, according to the procedure laid down in Article 14 of the Khedivial Decree of 19 June 1893.
Article 60
There shall be two classes of guards-
Four of the first class;
Six of the second class.
Article 61
The yearly pay of these guards shall be-
£E.160, rising by progressive increments to a maximum of £E.200, for the first class;
£E.120, rising by progressive increments to a maximum of £E.168, for the second class.
Article 62
These guards shall have the status of police officers, with the right to invoke aid in cases where the Sanitary Regulations are infringed.
They shall be under the immediate control of the Administrator-in-chief of the establishment at Suez or Tor.
They must have practical knowledge of all the methods of disinfection in use, and must know how to manipulate disinfecting materials and apparatus.
Article 63
The disinfecting and isolation station at Moses' Wells shall be under the control of the principal medical officer at Suez.
If sick persons are landed at the Moses' Wells Station, two of the Suez medical officers shall be kept in residence there, one to attend to cases of plague or cholera, the other to attend to persons not suffering from these diseases.
If there should be cases of plague, of cholera, and of other diseases at the same time, three medical officers shall be kept in residence, one for plague cases, one for cholera cases, and the third for persons suffering from other diseases.
Article 64
The disinfecting and isolation station at Moses' Wells must be provided with-
(1) At least three disinfecting chambers, of which one shall be on a barge, and the plant required for rat destruction.
(2) Two isolation hospitals, each with twelve beds, one for cases of plague and persons suspected of having plague, the other for cases of cholera and persons suspected of having cholera. These hospitals must be so arranged that, in each of them, the sick, the suspected, and men and women can be segregated from one another.
(3) Buildings, hospital tents, and ordinary tents for the accommodation of persons landed.
(4) A sufficient number of baths and shower baths.
(5) The necessary buildings for general staff, doctors, guards, etc; a store and a laundry.
(6) A reservoir for the water supply.
(7) The several buildings must be so arranged that the sick, or infected or suspected articles, cannot be brought into contact with other persons.
Article 65
The disinfecting chambers at Moses' Wells shall be entrusted to the special care of a skilled mechanic.
Section V
The passage of the Suez Canal in quarantine
Article 66
Permission to pass the Suez Canal in quarantine shall be granted by the Suez sanitary authority; the Board shall be immediately informed when such permission is given.
In doubtful cases the decision shall rest with the Board.
Article 67
When the permission provided for in the preceding Article has been given, a telegram shall at once be sent to the authority appointed by each Power. The telegram shall be sent at the expense of the ship.
Article 68
Each Power shall issue an edict subjecting to penalties those vessels which depart from the course declared by the captain and enter without licence one of the ports of that Power. Exception shall be made in the case of circumstances beyond control and when a break in the voyage cannot be avoided.
Article 69
When the health visit takes place the captain must declare if he has on board gangs of native stokers or hired servants of any description not included in the roll of the crew or the register kept for the purpose.
The following questions in particular shall be put to the captains of all ships arriving at Suez from the south, and shall be answered by them on oath:
Have you any supernumeraries, stokers or other hands not included in the ship's roll or in the special register?
What is their nationality?
Where did you embark them?
The medical officers must satisfy themselves as to the presence of these supernumeraries, and, if they find that any of their number are missing, they must inquire carefully into the cause of their absence.
Article 70
A sanitary officer and two sanitary guards shall go on board. They must accompany the ship as far as Port Said; their duty is to prevent communication, and to see to the execution of the measures prescribed for the passage of the Canal.
Article 71
All embarkation and disembarkation, and all transhipment of passengers or goods, are forbidden during the passage of the Canal from Suez to Port Said.
Provided always that travellers may embark at Port Said in quarantine.
Article 72
Ships passing through the Canal in quarantine must make the journey from Suez to Port Said without lying up.
In case of the vessel running aground, or being compelled to lie up, the necessary operations shall be carried out by the staff of the ship, all communication with the staff of the Suez Canal Company being avoided.
Article 73
Infected or suspected transports passing through the Canal in quarantine with troops must do so only by day. If they are compelled to pass the night in the Canal, they shall anchor in Lake Timsah or in the Great Lake.
Article 74
Ships that pass through the Canal in quarantine are forbidden to stop at Port Said, except as provided for by the second paragraph of Article 71 and by Article 75.
Revictualling must be effected by the means at the disposal of the ship.
All stevedores and others who have gone on board shall be isolated on the quarantine barge, where their clothing shall be disinfected as prescribed by the regulations.
Article 75
When it is absolutely necessary for ships passing in quarantine to coal at Port Said, they must do so at a place to be fixed by the Sanitary Board, where the necessary isolation and sanitary supervision can be secured. The coaling may be done by the labourers of the port in cases where effective supervision of this operation is possible, and when all contact with the crew can be avoided. At night the coaling place must be lighted by electricity.
Article 76
Pilots, electricians, agents of the Company, and sanitary guards shall be disembarked at Port Said outside the port, between the jetties, and shall be taken thence direct to the quarantine barge, where their clothing shall be disinfected if necessary.
Article 77
As regards the passage of the Suez Canal, the following advantages shall be accorded to ships of war as hereinafter specified:
The quarantine authority shall accept them as healthy on their presenting a certificate signed by the ship surgeons, countersigned by the captain, and stating on oath-
(a) That there has not been, either at the time of departure or during the voyage, a case of plague or of cholera on board;
(b) That a careful examination of every one on board, without exception, has been made within twelve hours of arrival at the Egyptian port, and that no case of either of these diseases has been detected.
These ships shall not undergo medical inspection, and shall be given free pratique at once, subject to their having completed five clear days since leaving the last infected port at which they called.
Such of these ships as have not completed the requisite period may pass through the Canal in quarantine without medical inspection, provided they produce the certificate abovementioned to the quarantine authority.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the quarantine authority shall have the right of medically inspecting, by its officers, ships of war in all instances in which it considers this procedure necessary.
Infected or suspected ships of war shall be subject to the regulations in force.
Only fighting units shall be regarded as ships of war. Transports and hospital ships shall be classed as ordinary ships.
Article 78
The Egyptian Maritime and Quarantine Board may arrange the conveyance, by rail, over Egyptian territory, of mails and ordinary passengers from infected countries in quarantine trains, under the conditions specified in Annex No. 1.
Section VI
Measures in the Persian Gulf
Article 79
Ships shall undergo the health-visit at the island of Ormuz sanitary station before they enter the Persian Gulf. They shall undergo the measures specified in Section III, Chapter II, Part I, that their health conditions and the place whence they have come render applicable.
Ships, however, that have to proceed up the Shatt-el-Arab shall be permitted, if the period of observation has not been completed, to continue their voyage, on condition that they traverse the Persian Gulf and the Shatt-el-Arab in quarantine. A chief guard and two sanitary guards, taken on board at Ormuz, shall keep the ship under supervision as far as Bussorah, where a second medical inspection shall be made and the necessary measures of disinfection carried out.
Pending the organization of the Ormuz sanitary station, the sanitary guards shall be taken on at the temporary station provided in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 82 hereinafter, and these guards shall accompany ships proceeding in quarantine up the Shatt-el-Arab to the station provided in the neighbourhood of Bussorah.
Ships that have to call at Persian ports to disembark passengers or goods may do so at Bender-Bushire.
It is to be clearly understood that a ship which continues healthy after five days, reckoned from her date of departure from the last port infected by plague or cholera at which she has touched, shall be granted free pratique at Persian Gulf ports, provided she is ascertained to be healthy on arrival.
Article 80
Insofar as the classification of ships and the measures they are to undergo are concerned, Articles 20 to 28 of this Convention apply in the Persian Gulf, subject to the three following modifications:
(1) Observation, for the same period, shall always be substituted for surveillance of passengers and crew.
(2) Healthy ships cannot be granted free pratique unless they have completed five full days since leaving the last infected port at which they have touched.
(3) In the case of suspected ships, the period of five days' observation of passengers and crew shall be reckoned from the time at which there ceased to be a case of plague or of cholera on board.
Section VII
Persian Gulf sanitary stations
Article 81
Sanitary stations must be provided, under the direction and at the expense of the Constantinople Board of Health - one at the island of Ormuz, the other at a spot to be selected in the neighbourhood of Bussorah.
At the Ormuz sanitary station there shall be at least two doctors, sanitary officers, sanitary guards, and a complete plant for disinfection and for destruction of rats. A small hospital shall be erected.
At the station near Bussorah there shall be provided a large lazaret with a staff of several doctors, and buildings and plant for the disinfection of goods.
Article 82
The Constantinople Superior Board of Health, which has the control of the Bussorah sanitary station, shall have the same power as regards the Ormuz station.
Pending the construction of the Ormuz sanitary station, a sanitary post shall be provided there by the Constantinople Superior Board of Health.
CHAPTER II
ARRIVALS BY LAND
Section 1
General provisions
Article 83
The measures taken in respect of arrivals by land from districts infected with plague or with cholera must be in conformity with the sanitary principles laid down in this Convention.
Modern methods of disinfection must be substituted for land quarantine. With this object, disinfecting chambers and other disinfecting plant shall be established at properly selected points on the roads frequented by travellers.
The same methods shall be adopted on railways, whether now in existence or constructed hereafter.
Merchandise shall be disinfected in accordance with the principles of this Convention.
Article 84
Every Government is a liberty, in case of need, to close a portion of its frontiers to passengers and merchandise in localities where there is difficulty in organizing sanitary supervision.
Section 2
Turkish land frontiers
Article 85
The Constantinople Superior Board of Health must organize without delay the sanitary stations of Hanikin and Kisil Dizié, near Bayazid, on the Turco-Persian and Turco-Russian frontiers.
PART III
SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING PILGRIMAGES
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 86
The provisions of Articles 46 and 47, Part II, are applicable to persons and things that have to be taken on board a pilgrim ship leaving a port in the Indian Ocean or Oceania, even when the port is not infected with plague or with cholera.
Article 87
When there are cases of plague or of cholera in the port, embarkation on pilgrim ships shall not take place until the persons, collected in groups, shall have been subjected to observation sufficient to insure that none of them are suffering from plague or cholera.
It is to be understood that, as regards the adoption of this measure, every Government may take local circumstances and possibilities into account.
Article 88
If local circumstances permit, pilgrims must prove that they possess the means absolutely necessary for the accomplishment of the pilgrimage, and, in particular, that they have a return ticket.
Article 89
Only steam ships shall be permitted to carry pilgrims on long voyages. The carriage of pilgrims by other ships on such voyages shall be prohibited.
Article 90
Pilgrim ships that are coasters intended for short passages known as "coasting voyages" shall be subject to the provisions of the special regulations for the Hedjaz pilgrimage, which shall be published by the Constantinople Board of Health, in conformity with the principles laid down in this Convention.
Article 91
A ship which, in addition to ordinary passengers, among whom pilgrims of the upper classes may be included, carries pilgrims of the lowest class in less proportion than one pilgrim per 100 tons gross, shall not be considered a pilgrim ship.
Article 92
Every pilgrim ship, on entering the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf, must observe the provisions of the special regulations for the Hedjaz pilgrimage, which shall be published by the Constantinople Board of Health, in conformity with the principles laid down in this Convention.
Article 93
The captain must pay all sanitary imposts leviable on pilgrims. These imposts must be covered by the price of the ticket.
Article 94
As far as practicable, pilgrims who embark or disembark at sanitary stations must have no contact with one another at the landing places.
Ships that have disembarked their pilgrims must change their anchorage before commencing re-embarkation.
Pilgrims who have been disembarked must be distributed in camp in as small groups as possible.
It is necessary that they be supplied with wholesome drinking water, obtained either from local sources or by distillation.
Article 95
When there is plague or cholera in the Hedjaz, provisions brought by pilgrims shall be destroyed if the sanitary authority consider it necessary.
CHAPTER II
PILGRIM SHIPS. SANITARY STATIONS
Section I
General conditions applying to ships
Article 96
The ship must be capable of accommodating the pilgrims in the between-decks.
Over and above the space required for the crew, the ship must provide for each person, irrespective of age, an area of 1.50 square metres, equivalent to 16 English square feet, and a height between decks of about 1.80 metres.
In coasting vessels, each pilgrim must be allowed a space at least 2 metres wide along the gunwales.
Article 97
On each side of the ship, on deck, a place must be set apart, screened from view and furnished with handpump, for the supply of sea water for the needs of the pilgrims. One such place must be reserved exclusively for women.
Article 98
The ship must be provided, in addition to closets for the crew, with latrines, fitted with a flushing apparatus or with a water tap, in a minimum proportion of one latrine per 100 passengers.
Some of these latrines shall be reserved exclusively for women.
There must be no closets between-decks or in the hold.
Article 99
The ship must have two places for cooking set apart for the use of the pilgrims. Pilgrims shall be forbidden to light fires elsewhere, especially on deck.
Article 100
A properly fitted hospital, constructed with due attention to safety and health, must be reserved for the accommodation of the sick.
It must be capable of accommodating, at the rate of 3 square metres per patient, not less than 5 percent of the pilgrims taken on board.
Article 101
The ship must be provided with the means of segregating persons showing symptoms of plague or of cholera.
Article 102
Every ship must carry such medical remedies, disinfectants, and things as are necessary for the treatment of the sick. The regulations framed for this class of ship by each Government must specify the nature and the quantity of these remedies.[6] Medicine and attendance shall be provided for the pilgrims free of charge.
Article 103
Every ship taking pilgrims must carry a duly qualified doctor, commissioned by the Government of the country to which the ship belongs or by the Government of the port where the pilgrims are embarked. A second doctor must be carried when the number of pilgrims on board exceeds 1,000.
Article 104
The captain must cause notices, in the languages chiefly spoken in the countries inhabited by the pilgrims he is taking, to be posted up on the ship in a conspicuous place, accessible to all concerned, showing-
(1) The destination of the ship;
(2) The price of tickets;
(3) The daily ration of food and water allowed to each pilgrim;
(4) The price of articles, not included in the daily ration, which may be procured on extra payment.
Article 105
The heavy baggage of pilgrims shall be registered, numbered, and put in the hold. Pilgrims may keep with them only such things as are absolutely necessary. The nature, amount and dimensions of these things shall be decided by regulations framed by each Government for its own ships.
Article 106
The provisions of Chapter I, of Sections I, II and III of Chapter II, and of Chapter III, of Part III of this Convention shall be posted up, in the form of regulations, in the language of the country to which the ship belongs, and also in the languages chiefly spoken in the countries inhabited by the pilgrims to be embarked, in a conspicuous and accessible place on every deck and between-decks of every ship carrying pilgrims.
Section II
Measures before departure
Article 107
The captain or, in his default, the owner or agent of every pilgrim ship must, not less than three days before departure, declare to the competent authority of the port of departure his intention to embark pilgrims. At ports of call, the captain or, in his default, the owner or agent of every pilgrim ship must make the same declaration twelve hours before the departure of the ship. This declaration must specify the proposed date of departure and the destination of the ship.
Article 108
On receipt of the declaration provided for by the preceding Article the competent authority shall proceed, at the expense of the captain, to inspect and measure the ship. The consular authority of the country to which the ship belongs may be present at this inspection.
Inspection alone shall take place if the captain already has a certificate of measurement furnished by the competent authority of his country, unless it be suspected that the certificate no longer represents correctly the real condition of the ship.[7]
Article 109
The competent authority shall not permit the departure of a pilgrim ship until satisfied-
(a) That the ship has been thoroughly cleaned and, if necessary, disinfected;
(b) That the ship is in a condition to undertake the voyage without danger, that she is properly manned, equipped and ventilated, and provided with a sufficient number of boats; that there is on board nothing that is, or may become, injurious to the health or safety of the passengers, and that the deck is of wood or of iron sheathed in wood;
(c) That there is on board, properly stowed away, over and above and rations for the crew, sufficient food and fuel of good quality for all the pilgrims, during the declared duration of the voyage;
(d) That the drinking water is of good quality and from a source free from risk of contamination; that it is in sufficient quantity; that the tanks for drinking water are safe from all contamination and so closed that the water can be supplied only by means of taps or pumps. The water supply fittings known as suçoirs shall be absolutely prohibited;
(e) That the vessel carries a condenser, capable of distilling a minimum quantity of 5 litres of water per diem for every person on board, including crew;
(f) That the ship possesses a disinfecting chamber, ascertained by the sanitary authority of the port where the pilgrims embarked to be safe and efficacious;
(g) That, in accordance with Articles 102 and 103, the vessel carries a duly qualified doctor commissioned[8] either by the Government of the country to which she belongs or by the Government of the port where the pilgrims embark, and that she carries medical stores;
(h) That the deck is free from merchandise and all encumbrances;
(i) That the arrangements on board are such as to allow of the measures prescribed in the following Section III being carried out.
Article 110
The captain may not start without having in his possession-
(1) A list, countersigned by the competent authority, showing the name, sex, and total number of pilgrims he is authorized to carry;
(2) A bill of health, giving the name, nationality and tonnage of the ship, the name of the captain and of the doctor, the exact number of persons embarked - crew, pilgrims and other passengers - the nature of the cargo, and the place of departure.
The competent authority shall note on the bill of health whether the number of pilgrims permissible under the regulations has been embarked or not, and, in the latter case, the additional number of passengers the vessel is authorized to embark at subsequent ports of call.
Section III
Measures during the voyage
Article 111
During the voyage the deck must be kept free from encumbrances; it must be reserved, night and day, for the passengers, and placed at their disposal without charge.
Article 112
The between-decks must be carefully cleansed and rubbed with dry sand, mixed with disinfectants, every day while the pilgrims are on deck.
Article 113
The latrines allotted to the passengers, as well as those for the crew, must be kept clean, and must be cleansed and disinfected three times a day.
Article 114
The excretions and dejecta of persons showing symptoms of plague or of cholera must be received in vessels containing a disinfecting solution. These vessels shall be emptied into the lantrines, which must be thoroughly disinfected every time this is done.
Article 115
All bedding, carpets and clothing that have been in contact with the sick persons referred to in the preceding Article must be immediately disinfected. The observance of this rule is specially enjoined in respect of the clothes of persons who have been near the sick, and which may have been contaminated.
Such of the abovementioned articles as are of no value must be either thrown overboard, if the ship is not in harbour or in a canal, or else burnt. Other articles must be carried to the disinfecting chamber in impermeable bags washed in a disinfecting solution.
Article 116
The quarters occupied by the sick, referred to in Article 100, must be thoroughly disinfected.
Article 117
It is compulsory on pilgrim ships to undergo such measures of disinfection as are in accordance with the regulations on this subject that are, for the time being, in force in the country under whose flag they sail.
Article 118
Not less than 5 litres of drinking water must each day be put at the disposal of every pilgrim, irrespective of age, free of charge.
Article 119
If there be any doubt as to the quality of the drinking water, or any reason to suspect that it may possibly have become contaminated, either at its source or during the voyage, it must be boiled or otherwise sterilized, and the captain shall be responsible for seeing that it is thrown overboard at the first port of call at which he can procure a purer supply.
Article 120
The doctor shall visit the pilgrims, tend the sick, and see that the principles of hygiene are observed on board. He must in particular-
(1) Satisfy himself that the rations issued to the pilgrims are of good quality, that their quantity is in accordance with contract, and that they are properly prepared;
(2) Satisfy himself that the provisions of Article 118, regarding the distribution of water, are observed;
(3) If there be any doubt as to the quality of the drinking water, call the attention of the captain, in writing, to the provisions of Article 119;
(4) Satisfy himself that the ship is always kept clean, and particularly that the latrines are cleansed in accordance with the provisions of Article 113;
(5) Satisfy himself that the pilgrims' quarters are kept wholesome, and, in case of the occurrence of infectious disease, that disinfection is carried out in accordance with Articles 116 and 117;
(6) Keep a diary of all occurrences related to health during the voyage, and submit this diary to the competent authority at the port of arrival.
Article 121
Only persons charged with the care of plague or cholera patients shall have access to them, and these persons must not come in contact with the other persons that have been embarked.
Article 122
In the event of a death occurring during the voyage, the captain must enter the fact opposite the name of the deceased on the list countersigned by the authority of the port of departure, and must also enter in the log the name of the deceased, his age, the place from which he came, the supposed cause of death, according to the medical certificate, and the date of death.
In the event of a death from infectious disease, the corpse, wrapped in a shroud impregnated with a disinfecting solution, must be committed to the deep.
Article 123
The captain must see that all preventive measures taken during the voyage are entered in the log. The log shall be submitted by him to the competent authority at the port of arrival.
At each port of call the captain must cause the list drawn up in accordance with Article 110 to be countersigned by the competent authority.
In the event of a pilgrim disembarking during the voyage, the captain must note the fact on the list opposite the pilgrim's name.
In the event of persons embarking, their names must be entered on the list in accordance with the foregoing Article 110. This must be done before the competent authority, as in duty bound, again countersigns the list.
Article 124
The bill of health given at the port of departure must not be changed during the voyage.
It shall be countersigned at each port of call by the sanitary authority, who shall enter-
(1) The number of passengers disembarked or embarked at the port;
(2) Anything that has happened at sea affecting the life or health of the persons embarked;
(3) The health conditions of the port of call.
Section IV
Measures on arrival of pilgrims in the Red Sea
A. Sanitary control of ships from an infected port, going from the south to the Hedjaz with Mohammedan pilgrims
Article 125
Pilgrim ships from the south, bound for the Hedjaz, must, in the first instance, put in at the Kamaran sanitary station, and shall be dealt with as provided by Articles 126-128.
Article 126
Ships found, on medical inspection, to be healthy shall be given free pratique on completion of the following procedure:
The pilgrims shall be disembarked; they shall take a shower bath or bathe in the sea; their soiled linen and any portion of their personal effects or their baggage, open, in the opinion of the sanitary authority, to suspicion, shall be disinfected. The duration of these operations, including disembarkation and embarkation, must not exceed forty eight hours.
If no recognized or suspected case of plague or of cholera be discovered during these operations, the pilgrims shall immediately be re-embarked and the ship shall proceed to the Hedjaz.
In the case of plague, the provisions of Articles 23 and 24 regarding rats shall apply in the event of there being any of these vermin on board.
Article 127
Suspected ships, which have had cases of plague or of cholera on board at the time of departure, but no fresh case of plague or of cholera within seven days, shall be dealt with as follows:
The pilgrims shall be disembarked; they shall take a shower bath or bathe in the sea; their soiled linen and any portion of their personal effects or their baggage, open, in the opinion of the sanitary authority, to suspicion, shall be disinfected.
In time of cholera, the bilge water shall be pumped out.
The parts of the ship occupied by the sick shall be disinfected. The duration of these operations, including disembarkation and embarkation, must not exceed forty eight hours.
If no case or suspected case of plague or of cholera be discovered during these operations, the pilgrims shall immediately be re-embarked and the ship shall proceed to Jeddah, where a second medical inspection shall take place on board. If the result be favourable and if the ship's doctor certifies in writing and on oath that there has been no case of plague or of cholera during the passage, the pilgrims shall be landed forthwith.
If, however, one or more recognized or suspected cases of plague or of cholera prove to have occurred during the voyage or on arrival, the ship shall be sent back to Kamaran, where she shall again be dealt with as infected.
In the case of plague, the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 22 shall apply in the event of there being rats on board.
Article 128
Infected ships, that is to say, ships with cases of plague or of cholera on board, or that have had cases of plague or of cholera on board within seven days, shall be dealt with as follows:
Persons suffering from plague or from cholera shall be disembarked and isolated in hospital. The other passengers shall be disembarked and isolated in as small groups as possible, in order that, if plague or cholera break out in one group, the whole party may not be affected.
The soiled linen, clothing and personal effects of the crew and the passengers shall be disinfected, as also shall the ship. The disinfection shall be carried out thoroughly.
Provided always that the local sanitary authority may decide that heavy baggage and merchandise need not be unloaded, and that only part of the ship need be disinfected.
The passengers shall remain at the Kamaran station seven or five days, according as to whether plague or cholera is in question. When no cases of plague or of cholera have occurred for several days the period of isolation may be shortened, and may vary according to the date of occurrence of the last case and the decision of the sanitary authority.
The ship shall then proceed to Jeddah, where everyone on board shall undergo a thorough medical examination. If the result be favourable the ship shall be given free pratique. If, however, recognized cases of plague or of cholera have occurred on board during the voyage or on arrival, the ship shall be sent back to Kamaran, where she shall again be dealt with as infected.
In the case of plague, the measures specified in Article 21 regarding rats shall be adopted in the event of there being any of these vermin on board.
1. The Kamaran station
Article 129
At the Kamaran station the following conditions must be fulfilled:
Complete evacuation of the island by its inhabitants.
For the safety and convenience of shipping in the bay of Kamaran Island, provision of-
(1) A sufficient number of buoys and beacons;
(2) A main pier or quay for the landing of passengers and baggage;
(3) A separate stage for the embarkation of the pilgrims in each encampment;
(4) A steam tug and sufficient barges for the disembarkation and embarkation of pilgrims.
Article 130
The disembarkation of pilgrims from infected ships shall be effected by the ship's own resources. If these be inadequate, the persons and the barges that assist in the disembarkation shall undergo the same measures as the pilgrims and the infected ship.
Article 131
The equipment of the sanitary station shall comprise the following:
(1) A railway system connecting the landing places with the administrative buildings, the disinfecting stations, the various staff premises, and the encampments.
(2) Administrative buildings and premises for the sanitary and other staff.
(3) Buildings for the disinfection and washing of wearing apparel and other articles.
(4) Buildings where the pilgrims are to have shower baths or sea baths while their clothes are being disinfected.
(5) Separate and completely isolated hospitals for both sexes-
(a) For the observation of suspected persons;
(b) For plague patients;
(c) For cholera patients;
(d) For patients suffering from other contagious diseases;
(e) For ordinary patients.
(6) Encampments completely separated from each other, the distance between them to be as great as possible; pilgrims' quarters constructed on the most approved sanitary principles, and not to contain more than twenty five persons each.
(7) A well-situated cemetery, distant from all dwellings, free from sub-soil water, and drained to the depth of half-a-metre below the level of the graves.
(8) Steam disinfectors in sufficient number and fulfilling all the conditions of safety, efficacy and rapidity; apparatus for destroying rats.
(9) Spray-producers, disinfecting chambers, and the necessary appliances for chemical disinfection.
(10) Water-distilling machines; apparatus for the sterilization of water by heat; ice machines. A system of pipes and covered reservoirs, impervious, and from which water can be taken only by means of taps or pumps, for the distribution of drinking water.
(11) A bacteriological laboratory with the necessary staff.
(12) Provision of portable receptacles for the reception of faecal matters after disinfection, and a system of disposal of these matters on one of the parts of the island farthest from the encampments, due regard being had to the conditions necessary for the proper working from a sanitary point of view of the land used for this purpose.
(13) A system of removal of slop and waste waters from the encampments which shall prevent their stagnation or use for drinking purposes. The slop and waste waters of the hospitals must be disinfected.
Article 132
The sanitary authority shall provide in each encampment a store for food and a store for fuel.
The tariff of prices fixed by the competent authority shall be posted up in several places in the encampment in the languages commonly spoken in the countries inhabited by the pilgrims.
The doctor of the encampment shall be responsible for the daily control of the quality and quantity of the provisions.
Water shall be provided free of charge.
2. The stations at Abu-Ali, Abu-Said, Jeddah, Vasta and Yambo
Article 133
At the sanitary stations of Abu-Ali, Abu-Said, Vasta, as well as those of Jeddah and Yambo, the following conditions must be fulfilled:
(1) The construction of four hospitals at Abu-Ali, two for cases of plague, male and female, two for cases of cholera, male and female.
(2) The construction of a hospital for ordinary cases at Vasta.
(3) The provision at Abu-Said and at Vasta of stone buildings capable of accommodating fifty persons each.
(4) The provision of three disinfecting chambers at Abu-Ali, Abu-Said and Vasta, with laundries, accessories, and apparatus for destroying rats.
(5) The provision of shower-baths at Abu-Said and Vasta.
(6) On each of the islands of Abu-Said and Vasta provision of distilling machines capable together of yielding 15 tons of water per day.
(7) The disposal of faecal matters and slop and waste waters on the lines accepted in the case of Kamaran.
(8) The provision of a cemetery on one of the islands.
(9) The provision at Jeddah and Yambo of the buildings and plant for sanitary purposes referred to in Article 150, particularly disinfecting chambers and other means of securing disinfection for the pilgrims returning from the Hedjaz.
Article 134
The rules laid down regarding food and water at Kamaran shall apply to the encampments of Abu-Ali, Abu-Said and Vasta.
B. Sanitary control of ships from the north going to the Hedjaz with Mohammedan pilgrims
Article 135
If it be not established that there is plague or cholera at the port of departure or in its neighbourhood, and if no case of plague or of cholera has occurred during the voyage, the ship shall be granted free pratique forthwith.
Article 136
If it be established that there is plague or cholera at the port of departure or in its neighbourhood, or if a case of plague or of cholera has occurred during the voyage, the ship shall be dealt with at El-Tor in the manner prescribed for ships coming from the south and stopping at Kamaran. The ships shall thereafter be granted free pratique.
Section V
Measures for pilgrims returning home
A. Homeward-bound pilgrim ships going north
Article 137
Every ship from a port in the Hedjaz or from any other port on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea, carrying pilgrims or any like collection of persons and bound for Suez or a Mediterranean port, must proceed to El-Tor, there to undergo the observation and the sanitary measures specified in Articles 141-143.
Article 138
Ships bringing back Mohammedan pilgrims to the Mediterranean shall not pass through the canal save in quarantine.
Article 139
Agents of shipping lines and captains of ships are warned that, on completion of their period of observation at El-Tor sanitary station, only Egyptian pilgrims will be permitted to leave the ship definitively in order to return to their homes.
Only pilgrims with a certificate of residence, issued by an Egyptian authority and made out in the form prescribed, shall be recognized as Egyptians or inhabitants of Egypt. Specimens of this certificate shall be deposited with the consular and sanitary authorities at Jeddah and Yambo, where they may be seen by shipping agents and ship captains.
Non-Egyptian pilgrims, such as Turks, Russians, Persians, Tunisians, Algerians, inhabitants of Morocco, etc, may not, after leaving El-Tor, be disembarked at an Egyptian port. Agents of shipping lines and ship captains are therefore warned that the transhipment of non-Egyptian pilgrims at Tor, Suez, Port Said or Alexandria is prohibited.
Vessels carrying pilgrims belonging to the nationalities mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be treated according to the rules for such pilgrims, and shall not be permitted to enter any Egyptian port in the Mediterranean.
Article 140
Egyptian pilgrims shall undergo at El-Tor, Suakim, or any other station appointed by the Egyptian Sanitary Board observation for a period of three days and medical inspection before being given free pratique.
Article 141
If it be established that there is plague or cholera in the Hedjaz or at the port whence the ship has come, or that either of these diseases has occurred in the Hedjaz during the pilgrimage, the ship shall be dealt with, at El-Tor, in the manner prescribed for infected ships at Kamaran.
Persons suffering from plague or cholera shall be landed and isolated in hospital. The other passengers shall be landed and isolated in as small groups as possible in order that, if plague or cholera break out in one group, the whole party may not be affected.
The soiled linen, clothing and personal effects of the crew and the passengers, and such baggage and merchandise as are suspected of being infected, shall be landed for purposes of disinfection. These articles, and also the ship, shall be thoroughly disinfected.
Provided always that the local sanitary authority may decide that heavy baggage and merchandise need not be unloaded and that only part of the ship need be disinfected.
The provisions of Articles 21 and 24 regarding rats shall apply in the event of there being any of these vermin on board.
Whether it be plague or cholera that is in question, all the pilgrims shall be kept under observation for seven clear days, reckoned from the day on which the measures of disinfection were completed. If a case of plague or of cholera occur in a section, the period of seven days for that section shall be reckoned from the day on which the last case occurred.
Article 142
In the circumstances provided for by the foregoing Article, Egyptian pilgrims shall, in addition, be kept under observation for a further period of three days.
Article 143
If it be not established that there is plague or cholera in the Hedjaz or at the port whence the ship has come, or that either of these diseases has occurred in the Hedjaz during the pilgrimage, the ship shall be dealt with, at El-Tor, in the manner prescribed for healthy ships at Kamaran.
The pilgrims shall be landed; they shall take a shower bath or bathe in the sea; their soiled linen and any portion of their personal effects or their baggage, open, in the opinion of the sanitary authority, to suspicion, shall be disinfected. The duration of these operations, including disembarkation and embarkation, must not exceed seventy two hours.
Provided always that a pilgrim ship, belonging to a country that has given its adhesion to the provisions of this Convention and of previous Conventions, if she has had no case of plague or of cholera during the voyage from Jeddah to Yambo and El-Tor, and if it be established by medical examination, conducted at El-Tor after disembarkation of every one on board, that she has no such case, may be permitted by the Egyptian Sanitary Board to pass through the Suez Canal in quarantine, even by night, subject to the fulfilment of the four following conditions:
(1) That, in order to secure medical attendance of persons on board, the ship carries one or more doctors, commissioned by the Government of the country to which she belongs;
(2) That the ship is provided with disinfecting chambers, and it is established that the soiled linen has been disinfected during the voyage;
(3) That it is proved that the number of pilgrims is not in excess of that permitted by the pilgrimage regulations;
(4) That the captain undertakes to sail direct to a port in the country to which the ship belongs.
The medical examination, after disembarkation at El-Tor, must be made with as little delay as possible.
The sanitary tax, payable to the quarantine Administration, shall be the same as the pilgrims would have had to pay if they had remained in quarantine for three days.
Article 144
In the event of a suspicious case occurring on board during the voyage from El-Tor to Suez, the ship shall be sent back to El-Tor.
Article 145
Transhipment of pilgrims at Egyptian ports is strictly prohibited.
Article 146
Ships from the Hedjaz, carrying pilgrims bound for the African coast of the Red Sea, shall be permitted to proceed direct to Suakim, or such other place as the Alexandria Sanitary Board shall appoint, there to undergo the same quarantine measures as those at El-Tor.
Article 147
Ships from the Hedjaz, or from a port on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea, with a clean bill of health, not carrying pilgrims or like collections of persons, and without suspicious incident during the voyage, shall on favourable medical inspection, be given free pratique at Suez.
Article 148
When it is established that there is plague or cholera in the Hedjaz-
(1) Caravans of Egyptian pilgrims must, before proceeding to Egypt, undergo strict quarantine at El-Tor for seven days, whether it be plague or cholera that is in question; they must thereafter be kept under observation at El-Tor for three days, after which they shall not be granted free pratique until after favourable medical inspection and disinfection of effects;
(2) Caravans of pilgrims from other countries, returning home by land, shall undergo the same measures as Egyptian caravans, and must be accompanied by sanitary guards to the borders of the desert.
Article 149
When plague or cholera has not been reported to have occurred in the Hedjaz, caravans of pilgrims coming from the Hedjaz by way of Akaba or Moila shall, on their arrival at the Canal or at Nakhel, undergo medical inspection and disinfection of soiled linen and personal effects.
B. Homeward-bound pilgrims, going south
Article 150
The ports of embarkation in the Hedjaz shall be provided with buildings and plant for sanitary purposes sufficient to permit, in the case of pilgrims homeward bound to the south, the taking of the measures, rendered compulsory by the provisions of Articles 46 and 47, on the departure of these pilgrims from ports beyond the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb.
These measures shall be optional: that is to say, they shall not be carried out unless the consular authority of the country to which the pilgrims belong, or the doctor of the ship by which they propose to go, considers them necessary.
CHAPTER III
PENALTIES
Article 151
Any captain convicted of a breach of his contract for the supply of water, food or fuel shall be liable to a fine of £T.2.[9] This fine shall be paid to the pilgrim who has suffered from the breach of contract on proof that he demanded its fulfilment without effect.
Article 152
Any infringement of Article 104 shall be punished by a fine of £T.30.
Article 153
Any captain, who commits, or knowingly allows to be committed, any fraud with respect to the list of pilgrims, or of the bill of health provided for by Article 110, shall be liable to a fine of £T.50.
Article 154
Any ship-captain arriving without a bill of health from the port of departure, or without its having been countersigned at the ports of call, or unprovided with the prescribed list, duly kept in accordance with Articles 110, 123 and 124, shall be liable, in each instance, to a fine of £T.12.
Article 155
Any captain convicted of having or of having had on board more than 100 pilgrims, without a commissioned doctor, in accordance with the provisions of Article 103, shall be liable to a fine of £T.300.
Article 156
Any captain convicted of having or of having had on board more pilgrims than he is permitted, by the provisions of Article 110, to carry, shall be liable to a fine of £T.5 for each pilgrim in excess of the proper number.
The pilgrims in excess of the proper number shall be disembarked at the first station where there is a competent authority, and the captain is bound to provide the pilgrims so disembarked with sufficient money to enable them to reach their destination.
Article 157
Any captain convicted of having disembarked pilgrims at a place other than their destination, unless with their consent, or from unavoidable cause, shall be liable to a fine of £T.20 for each pilgrim wrongfully disembarked.
Article 158
Any other infringement of the provisions relating to pilgrim ships shall be punished by a fine of from £T.10 to £T.100.
Article 159
Any known infringement during the voyage shall be entered in the bill of health, and in the list of pilgrims. The competent authority shall prepare a statement of the case and submit it in the proper quarter.
Article 160
In Turkish ports, infringements of the provisions relating to pilgrim ships shall be tried before, and the fine imposed by, the competent authority, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 173 and 174.
Article 161
All agents required to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Convention regarding pilgrim ships shall be liable to punishment, agreeably to the laws of their respective countries, for any failure on their part in carrying out the aforesaid provisions.
PART IV
ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL
I. The Egyptian Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board
Article 162
The provisions of Annex III of the Venice Sanitary Convention of 30 January 1892 regarding the composition, the functions, and the manner of discharge of the functions of the Egyptian Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board, as provided by the Decrees of His Highness the Khedive under the dates of 19 June 1893 and 25 December 1894, and also by the Ministerial Order of 19 June 1894, are confirmed.
The said Decrees and Order are appended to this Convention.
Article 163
The ordinary expenses arising out of the provisions of this Convention, and in particular those due to increase of the staff employed by the Egyptian Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board, shall be defrayed by an additional yearly contribution by the Egyptian Government of a sum of £E.4,000, which may be paid out of the surplus of the lighthouse dues remaining at the disposal of that Government.
Provided always that from this sum shall be deducted to the amount produced by an additional quarantine charge of 10 P.T. (piastre tariff) on each pilgrim, to be levied at El-Tor.
In the event of the Egyptian Government finding difficulty in bearing this proportion of the expenses, it would be for the Powers represented on the Sanitary Board to approach the Khedivial Government with a view to securing part of these expenses being borne by the latter.
Article 164
It devolves upon the Egyptian Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board to bring into harmony with the provisions of this Convention the regulations it now applies to plague, cholera and yellow fever, and also the regulations regarding arrivals from Arabian ports in the Red Sea during the pilgrimage season.
If necessary, it shall revise, to the same end, the general sanitary, maritime and quarantine police regulations now in force.
To become effective, these regulations must be approved by the several Powers represented on the Board.
II. The Constantinople Superior Board of Health
Article 165
The framing of the measures to be taken with a view to preventing the introduction into the Turkish Empire and the transmission to other countries, of epidemic disease, devolves upon the Constantinople Superior Board of Health.
Article 166
The number of Turkish delegates on the Superior Board of Health, having the right to vote, shall be four, namely:
The President of the Board, or, in his absence, the Acting President of the meeting. They shall have a casting vote only;
The Inspector-General of the sanitary service;
The Assistant-Inspector;
The Delegate acting as intermediary between the Board and the Sublime Porte, known as Mouhassébedgi.
Article 167
The appointment of the Inspector-General, the Assistant-Inspector, and the delegate beforementioned, nominated by the Board, shall be ratified by the Turkish Government.
Article 168
The High Contracting Parties recognize the right of Roumania, as a maritime Power, to representation by a delegate on the Board.
Article 169
The delegates of the several States must be duly qualified doctors, holding the diploma of a European faculty of medicine, and belonging to the nation they represent, or consular officials of rank not lower than Vice-Consul or of equivalent rank.
The delegates must be in no way connected with the local authority or with a shipping company.
These provisions shall not apply to the delegates now in office.
Article 170
The decisions of the Superior Board of Health, carried by a majority of its members, shall come into force, without appeal.
The Governments signing this Convention agree that their representatives at Constantinople shall be instructed to inform the Turkish Government of this Convention and to approach that Government with a view to securing its accession thereto.
Article 171
The enforcement and the control of the provisions of this Convention regarding the pilgrimages and of measures against the introduction and the spread of plague and of cholera, shall be entrusted, within the scope of the Constantinople Superior Board of Health's jurisdiction, to a Committee selected from among members of that Board exclusively, and composed of representatives of the several Powers adhering to this Convention.
The representatives of Turkey on this Committee shall be three in number; one of them shall be the President of the Committee. When the votes are equally divided, the President shall have a casting vote.
Article 172
There shall be a staff of qualified doctors, well-trained disinfecters and mechanics, and also sanitary guards selected from persons who have been officers or non-commissioned officers of higher than corporal's rank in the military service, whose duty it shall be to secure, within the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Superior Board of Health, the proper working of the several sanitary establishments enumerated in and prescribed by this Convention.
Article 173
The sanitary authority of a Turkish port of call or of arrival, which has convicted anyone of an infringement of the regulations, shall prepare a statement of the case, to which the captain is entitled to add comments in writing. A certified copy of this statement shall be sent, at the port of call or of arrival, to the consular authority of the country under whose flag the ship sails. The amount of the fine imposed shall be deposited with the consular authority or, if there be no Consul, with the sanitary authority. The fine shall not be definitively handed over to the Constantinople Superior Board of Health until the Consular Commission, described in the Article next following, shall have given judgment as to whether such fine be valid.
Another certified copy of the statement must be forwarded by the convicting sanitary authority to the President of the Constantinople Board of Health, who shall bring the document to the notice of the Consular Commission.
The nature of the infringement and the deposit of the fine shall be noted upon the bill of health by the sanitary or the consular authority.
Article 174
A Consular Commission shall be established at Constantinople to decide between contradictory statements made by sanitary agents and incriminated captains. It shall be appointed yearly by the consular authorities. The Sanitary Administration may be represented by a person discharging the duties of public prosecutor. The Consul of the country concerned shall always be invited to attend; he shall be entitled to vote.
Article 175
The cost of providing, within the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Superior Board of Health, the sanitary posts, both permanent and temporary, prescribed by this Convention, shall be, in so far as construction of buildings is concerned, debited to the Turkish Government. The Constantinople Superior Board of Health is authorized, if necessary and in case of emergency, to advance from the reserve fund the necessary money, which shall, upon demand, be furnished by the "Mixed Commission entrusted with the revision of sanitary charges". In this event, the Board must see to the construction of these establishments.
The Constantinople Superior Board of Health must organize, without delay, the sanitary stations of Hanikin and Kizil-Dizié, near Bayazid, on the Turko-Persian and Turko-Russian frontiers, out of the moneys now placed at its disposal.
The other expenses arising, within the jurisdiction of the said Board, from the measures prescribed by this Convention, shall be mutually borne by the Turkish Government and the Constantinople Superior Board of Health, as agreed upon by the Government and the Powers represented on the Board.
III. The Tangier International Board of Health
Article 176
In the interests of the public health, the High Contracting Parties agree that their representatives in Morocco shall again direct the attention of the Tangier International Board of Health to the necessity of carrying out the provisions of the Sanitary Conventions.
IV. Miscellaneous provisions
Article 177
Each Government shall decide as to the means it shall employ to secure disinfection and the destruction of rats.[10]
Article 178
The sums realised by sanitary charges and fines may not, in any instance whatever, be used for any purposes other than those under the control of the Boards of Health.
Article 179
The High Contracting Parties undertake that their Public Health Departments shall frame a set of instructions intended to enable ship captains, particularly when there is no doctor on board, to carry out the provisions of this Convention regarding plague and cholera, and also to carry out the regulations regarding yellow fever.
V. The Persian Gulf
Article 180
The cost of construction and upkeep of the sanitary station to be provided, in accordance with Article 81 of this Convention, on the island of Ormuz, shall be debited to the Constantinople Superior Board of Health. The said Board's Mixed Commission of revision shall meet at the earliest date possible in order to furnish, on the Board's request, the necessary moneys to be derived from the available reserve funds.
VI. International Health Office
Article 181
The Conference having taken note of the Resolutions, hereto appended, passed by its Commission of Ways and Means regarding the creation of an International Health Office in Paris, the French Government shall, at such time as it may think fit, submit, by diplomatic channels, proposals on this subject to the States represented at the Conference.
PART V
YELLOW FEVER
Article 182
The countries concerned are recommended to modify their Sanitary Regulations in such fashion as to bring them into harmony with the present scientific data as to the manner in which yellow fever is transmitted, and, in particular, as to the part played by mosquitoes in carrying the germs of the disease.
PART VI
ACCESSIONS AND RATIFICATIONS
Article 183
The Governments which have not signed this Convention are allowed to become parties thereto at their request. Such accession shall be notified, through the diplomatic channel, to the Government of the French Republic, and by that Government to the other Signatory Governments.
Article 184
The present Convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications thereof shall be deposited at Paris as soon as may be practicable.
It shall come into force as soon as it shall have been published in accordance with the laws of the Signatory States. As regards the relations between the Powers which may ratify or become parties to it, it shall replace the International Sanitary Conventions signed on 30 January 1892, 15 April 1893, 3 April 1894 and 19 March 1897.
The previous Conventions, above cited, shall continue in force in the case of Powers which, having signed or become parties to them, do not ratify or become parties to this Convention.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention and have affixed thereto their seals.
DONE at Paris, the 3rd December, 1903, in a single copy, which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic, and of which copies certified as being correct shall be transmitted through the diplomatic channel to the Contracting Powers.
[Signatures not reproduced here.]
ANNEX I
(See Article 78)
REGULATIONS REGARDING THE CONVEYANCE OF PASSENGERS AND MAILS FROM INFECTED COUNTRIES THROUGH EGYPT BY QUARANTINE TRAIN
Article 1
The Egyptian Railway Executive that wishes to run a quarantine train in connection with ships arriving from infected ports must give notice thereof to the local quarantine authority not less than two hours before the time of departure of such train.
Article 2
The passengers shall land at a place appointed by the quarantine authority, with the consent of the Railway Executive and the Egyptian Government, and shall proceed, without any communication, direct from the ship to the train, under the supervision of a transit officer and of two or more sanitary guards.
Article 3
The passengers' personal belongings, baggage, etc, shall be conveyed in quarantine by the means at the disposal of the ship.
Article 4
In so far as quarantine measures are concerned, the railway staff shall obey the orders of the transit officer.
Article 5
The carriages employed in this service shall be corridor-carriages. In each carriage there shall be a sanitary guard, whose duty it shall be to keep watch over the passengers. The railway staff shall not hold any communication with the passengers.
A doctor on the quarantine staff shall go with the train.
Article 6
The passengers' heavy baggage shall be put in a special van, which the transit officer shall seal before the train starts. Upon arrival, the seals shall be removed by the transit officer.
Transference of passengers to another train, or taking passengers during the journey, is prohibited.
Article 7
The closets shall be furnished with pails, containing a certain amount of antiseptic, for the reception of the passengers' dejecta.
Article 8
No one, except the staff absolutely necessary, shall be allowed on railway platforms at which the train may have to stop.
Article 9
Every train may have a restaurant car. The remnants of meals shall be destroyed. The staff of the restaurant car and such other railway servants as have come in contact, from any cause, with passengers, shall undergo the same measures as the pilots and electricians at Port Said or Suez, or such measures as the Board may consider necessary.
Article 10
Passengers are absolutely prohibited from throwing anything whatever out of the windows, doors, etc.
Article 11
In every train a hospital compartment shall be kept empty so as to secure isolation of the sick therein, should such contingency arise. This compartment shall be fitted up in accordance with the directions of the Quarantine Board.
If plague or cholera appear among the passengers, the sick person shall immediately be isolated in the special compartment, and shall, on the arrival of the train, be removed forthwith to the quarantine lazaret. The other passengers shall proceed on their journey in quarantine.
Article 12
If a case of plague or of cholera occur during the journey, the train will be disinfected by the quarantine authority.
In all instances the vans carrying baggage and mails shall be disinfected immediately after the arrival of the train.
Article 13
The transference of passengers, baggage, etc, from train to ship shall be effected in the same way as on arrival. The ship that takes the passengers shall immediately be put in quarantine, and any incident that may have occurred during the journey shall be noted on the bill of health, with specific mention of any persons that may have been in contact with the sick.
Article 14
The expenses incurred by the quarantine administrative body shall be debited to whoever requisitioned the quarantine train.
Article 15
The President of the Board, or his substitute, shall have the right to exercise supervision over the train during the whole of its journey.
The President may, moreover, entrust the duty of such supervision to a high official (above and beyond the transit-officer and the sanitary guards).
This official shall have access to the train on his showing an order signed by the President.
ANNEX II
(See Article 162)
KHEDIVIAL DECREES OF 19 JUNE 1893 AND 25 DECEMBER 1894 AND MINISTERIAL ORDER OF 19 JUNE 1893
[Texts not reproduced here - see ATS 1928 No. 3 (electronic).]
ANNEX III
(See Article 181)
RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY THE COMMISSION OF WAYS AND MEANS OF THE SANITARY CONFERENCE OF PARIS REGARDING AN INTERNATIONAL HEALTH OFFICE
I. An International Health Office shall be established on the lines followed in the institution and conduct of the International Office of Weights and Measures. It shall have its seat in Paris.
II. The International Office shall fulfil the functions of collecting information as to the progress of infectious diseases. To this end it shall receive information given to it by the chief health authorities of the States that are parties to it.
III. The Office shall periodically set out the results of these labours in official reports, which shall be communicated to the Contracting Governments. These reports must be made public.
IV. The Office shall be supported by contributions from the Contracting Governments.
V. The Government, in whose country the International Office is to be established, shall be charged with the submission, within three months of the signing of the proceedings of the Conference, to the approval of the Contracting States, of regulations for the institution and conduct of that Office.
[1] "Isolation" means the isolation of the sick person, of those in permanent attendance on him, and the prohibition of visits by any other person.
[2] "Observation" means isolation of travellers either on board a ship or in a sanitary station before they obtain a free pratique.
[3] "Surveillance" means that travellers are not isolated; they receive free pratique immediately, but the authorities of the several places whither they are bound are informed of their coming and they are subjected to medical examination with a view to ascertaining their state of health.
[4] "Crew" means persons forming or having formed part of the crew or staff of the ship, and includes stewards, waiters, cafedji, etc. The word must be interpreted in this sense in all instances in which it occurs in this Convention.
[5] The sick shall, as far as possible, be landed at Moses' Wells; the other persons may be kept under observation at a sanitary station appointed by the Egyptian Sanitary, Maritime and Quarantine Board (pilots' lazaret).
[6] It is to be desired that every ship be provided with the chief immunizing agents (anti-plague serum, Haffkine's prophylactic, etc).
[7] At present the competent authority is: in British India, an officer appointed for the purpose by the local Government (Native Passengers' Ships Act, 1877, Article 7); in the Dutch Indies, the master of the port; in Turkey, the sanitary authority; in Austria-Hungary, the port authority; in Italy, the captain of the port; in France, Tunis and Spain, the sanitary authority; in Egypt, the sanitary quarantine authority.
[8] Exception is made in the case of Governments without commissioned doctors.
[9] A Turkish pound is of the value of 22½ fr.
[10] The following methods of disinfection are given by way of guide:
Wearing apparel, old rags, infected dressings, papers and other articles of no value should be burnt.
Personal effects, bedding, mattresses infected with plague can be efficiently disinfected either by means of a high-pressure steam disinfecting chamber or a current-steam disinfecting chamber at a temperature of 100º Centigrade, or by exposure to formol vapours.
Articles, such as coverlets and bedlinen, that can be steeped in antiseptic solutions without damage, can be disinfected by 1 per 1,000 solutions of perchloride of mercury, 3 per 100 solutions of carbolic acid, 3 per 100 solutions of lysol or commercial cresyl, 1 per 100 solutions of formol (one part of the commercial solution of formaldehyde at 40 per 100), or 1 per 100 solutions of the alkaline hypochlorites (sodium or potassium), that is to say, 1 part of the ordinary solution of commercial hypochlorite.
The period of contact must obviously be long enough to allow dried germs to be well penetrated by the antiseptic solution: four to six hours will suffice.
To secure destruction of rats, three processes are now made use of:
(1) Sulphurous acid mixed with a small quantity of sulphuric anhydride, driven under pressure into holds and mixed with the air. This destroys rats and insects and will, it is stated, destroy the plague-bacillus also if the proportion of sulphuro-sulphuric anhydride be sufficiently great.
(2) An incombustible mixture of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, passed into holds.
(3) Carbonic acid so employed as to constitute 30 percent of the air in the ship.
The last two methods kill rodents, but it is not claimed that they destroy insects or the plague-bacillus.
The Technical Commission of the Paris (1903) Sanitary Conference specified the three following processes - a mixture of sulphuro-sulphuric anhydrides, a mixture of carbonic oxide and carbonic acid, and carbonic acid, - as being among those to which Governments might resort, and expressed the opinion that the sanitary authority should, in every instance where it did not itself do the work, superintend its performance and make sure that the rats had been killed.
