17
as far as possible that no passenger proceeds on board who is suffering, or is
likely during the journey to suffer from, fever suspicious of yellow fever, plague
or other infectious disease. To every passenger " passed " by him a certifi-
cate to that effect was given. For purposes of plague prevention the baggage
of passengers was disinfected before being taken on board. On the day of
departure the ship was visited by the United States medical officer and the
sanitary staff of the port, and after the captain had certified that none of the
officers or crew had been on shore at Guayaquil the passengers, officers
and crew were carefully examined. The holds of the ship and the cook's galley
and pantries and the quarters of the crew were then sealed and fumigated, the
Clayton apparatus with which the ship was fitted being used for the holds, and
sulphur pots for the galley and pantries. The Bill of Health which had been
made out and signed by the Consul was then completed and endorsed by the
United States medical officer, and the ship was free to proceed. We arrived off
Panama on the evening of the fourth day after leaving Guayaquil and anchored
in the appointed station off quarantine island. Soon after daylight the ship
was visited by the quarantine officers, who obtained from the captain the Bill
of Health and ascertained that there had been no case of suspicious illness dur-
ing the voyage. The whole ship's company was then paraded and examined
thoroughly, the temperature of each person being taken. The same procedure
was then carried out with regard to the passengers, their certificates being
collected and the temperature of each person being taken, The passengers
were then taken off the ship and placed in quarantine to complete a period of
seven days*' from the day of going on board at Guayaquil, but the ship and the
ship's company (none of whom had gone on shore at Guayaquil) were granted
pratique and allowed to proceed to the wharves at Panama.
Í was informed that if a case of yellow fever had occurred during the voyage
the quarantine officers would have ascertained where it had been contracted : if
it had been contracted on shore at Guayaquil the patient would have been
isolated in the quarantine station, the ship would have been thoroughly fumiga-
ted to destroy any mosquitoes that might possibly be on board, and then would
have been allowed to proceed with its officers and crew as though it had arrived
with a clean record;‡ if the case had been contracted on the ship a thorough
fumigation would be carried out and then the ship and its entire personnel would
have been detained in quarantine for 6 days subsequent to the fumigation.
The staff for the quarantine arrangements at Colon, Panama and Socas del
Toro consisted at the time of my visit of a chief quarantine officer, three
quarantine officers, an assistant quarantine officer and 35 employees. The
duty of examining immigrants is also carried out by these officers.
At Panama the quarantine station is on one of the islands in the Bay; at
Colon it is at some distance from the city. In both stations there are separate
buildings for patients suffering from different infectious diseases and all buildings
are very thoroughly screened. Mosquitoes are absent from the island on which
the quarantine station for Panama is built.
The following figures relate to the quarantine transactions at the ports of
Ancon-Panama and Colon-Cristobal during 1910:—
Number of vessels inspected and passed
Number of vessels fumigated
..„
Number of Bills of Health visaed or issued
„
,,
Number of crew and passengers inspected
,
Number of persons held in quarantine at the detention houses to complete the
incubation period of yellow fever and plague
,
Number held on board vessels for the same pur pose.
Number of immigrants rejected
* If only yellow fever had been in question the period would have been 6 days; but Guayaquil was also
infected with plague.
t Instances of this kind occasionally happen. The procedure is based on the view that the ship icfi Guaya-
quil without any infecteil mosquitoes on board, but that possibly there might be some previously uni.ifericd mos-
quitoes on board. The crew are allowed to proceed-because the previously uninfecied mosquitoes even if they
had bitten the yellow lever patient during the voyage, would not be infective until 12 days had elapsed, and the
journey to Panama (where they would be killed by fumigation) takes only 4 days.
474DE