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48
ASSOCIATION OF PORT HEALTH AUTHORITIES OF THE
BRITISH ISLES.
The Autumn meeting of the Association of Port Health Authorities of the British
Isles took place at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Gower Street,
London, W.C. 1, on the 17th November, and was attended by your Chairman, Captain
Robert Hewett, your late Chairman, Mr. Alfred Robertson, your Permanent Representative,
Mr. Frederick Whittingham, J.P., as well as by your Medical Officer of
Health.
Your Medical Officer gave the following address to the Members on the work of
the International Health Office of Paris:—
QUARANTINE BY SEA, LAND AND AIR. AN ACCOUNT OF THE WORK OF THE INTERNATIONAL
HEALTH OFFICE, PARIS
by
DR. M. T. MORGAN, Medical Officer of Health, Port of London, President of the International Health Officc.
Paris.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like at once to take this opportunity of expressing my great pleasure in renewing acquaintance
and contact with my friends and colleagues of this Association and my appreciation of the great honour the
Association has done me in inviting me to give a brief survey of the work of the International Health Office
of Paris.
Time does not permit me to give more than a brief historical account of the origin of the Paris Office ;
suffice it to say that it was established by an International Agreement signed at Rome on 9th December,
1907, by 12 countries—Great Britain, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, the United States of America, France, Italy,
the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Portugal and Egypt.
The moving spirit of its creation was that distinguished French Ambassador, Monsieur Camille Barrere,
who has displayed for many years past great interest in the prevention of the spread of epidemic disease
and has taken an active part in the work and growth of the Paris Office since its foundation.
The duties and functions of the Paris Office are to be found in Articles 4 and 5 of its Statutes of
Constitution, which read as follows:—
"Article 4.—The principal object of the Office is to collect and bring to the knowledge of the
participating States the facts and documents of a general character which relate to public health,
and especially as regards infectious diseases, notably, cholera, plague, and yellow fever, as well
as the measures taken to combat these diseases."
"Article 5.—The Governments shall inform the Office of the steps taken by them to ensure
the application of International Sanitary Conventions. The Office shall suggest the modifications
which it might be advantageous to introduce into the provisions of these Conventions."'
You will see, therefore, that it has a wide field to study ; in practice it restricts itself principally to the
study of communicable diseases and of measures for their prevention and control.
While it is always prepared to study any matters of public health interest, it leaves, by tacit consent,
much of, if not all, the field of social medicine and hygiene to its younger brother, the Health Organisation
of the League of Nations.
The executive duties of the Paris office are carried out:—
(a) By a Permanent Committee composed of Delegates sent by each country that has signed
the Rome Agreement; and
(b) By a Secretariat comprising a Medical Director, a lay Secretary and two Medical Officers
with the necessary subordinate Staff.
The premises of the Paris Office are situated on the left bank of the Seine at 195, Boulevard St. Germain.
You will recollect that I stated that the Rome Agreement establishing the Paris Office was signed, at
the time of its conclusion in 1907, by 12 countries. That number has steadily grown, and the Agreement
has now been signed by no less than 54 countries, including, of course, all the great maritime powers.
The Permanent Committee has, therefore, 54 members, each representing one of the signatory countries,
many of whom are the Chief Medical Officers of the State Health Service of their country.
The Permanent Committee meets twice a year, generally in May and October, for a period of a week to
10 days. It has a large number of communications, reports, etc., to deal with at each session—in recent
years about 80 to 100—on progress in the study of epidemic disease ; on administrative measures recently
adopted in some country or other in connection with quarantine or other Port Health practice ; on a
number of complaints concerning such matters as the arbitrary fumigation of ships carrying valid
deratisation or exemption certificates, or on the interpretation of some Article or some practice arising out
of the application of the International Sanitary Conventions.
Much of the work of the Permanent Committee is carried out by means of a number of Standing
Commissions which meet during each session, and make a report to the main Committee.