"تقارير إدارة أقسام ومناطق الأراضي المحتلة في بلاد الرافدين لسنة ١٩١٨. المجلد I" [ظ‎‎١‎٤‎٤] (٤٧٠/٢٩٣)

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state that cholera (to take a typical example of diseases which are feared in Europe)
spreads at the same rate.
The responsibility for the provision of a defensive sanitary organisation in
Basrah before the war was assumed under signature of the International Sanitary
Conventions of 1903 and 1912 by the Turkish Government. The actual duty of
framing regulations in accordance with these Conventions, and of establishing
sanitary stations, was delegated to the Constantinople Superior Board of Health.
A quarantine station was established near Basrah, and existed for some years.
In 1912 this station was inspected by a Commission and was found to require
reorganisation. Plans were drawn up, but the outbreak of war cancelled all
arrangements. After the British occupation, the buildings were handed over to
the military as the nucleus of an Isolation Hospital at the Base. This is the
position at present.
During the war the principle of surveillance has been necessarily adopted in
dealing with troops. This has been quite satisfactory.
The Regulations of the International Sanitary Convention of 1912 were signed
by the British delegates, with the stipulation that all the Colonies, Possessions and
Protectorates of the British Government were to be free to choose for themselves
whether they decided to be governed by the Convention’s articles or not, notice
being given to the French Government of the terms of their intentions in regard to
the matter.
As soon as a Civil Government for Mesopotamia is established, it will be
necessary for it to decide whether a Port Sanitary Service is to be instituted in
Basrah. If it is decided that this is requisite, the next duty will be to have
regulations formulated for its administration. These regulations may be in con
formity with the provisions of the International Sanitary Conventions, in which
case a notification to this effect would be sent to the Foreign Ministry of the French
Republic.
It should be understood that the details for a sanitary service in Basrah have
not been framed in the International Sanitary Convention Regulations, but certain
articles therein are intended as a general guide for the drawing up of special
regulations for this port. I quote the most important article, part 2, sect. 6, art. 83,
Sanitary Control of the Persian Gulf :—
“ The sanitary regulations prescribed in the articles of this Convention
shall be applied to ships entering the Persian Gulf by the Sanitary Authorities
of the ports of arrival. These regulations, in so far as they relate to the
classification of ships and the measures to be undergone in the Persian Gulf,
are 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.”
In order to carry out without delay to shipping the provisions of this article,
a quarantine station on shore is necessary. In the case of healthy ordinary ships,
which have been five days out from an infected port, pratique should be granted
immediately. In the case of infected ships, i.e., ships having a case of plague or of
cholera on board, quarantine on shore is necessary for a period of five days. In
the case of suspected ships, quarantine on shore may be necessary in order to
complete the required period of observation.
.x 1 already stated, in my Memo. No. 500 Port, dated 9th December 1918,
to the A.D.M.b., Base, with a copy to the M.G. and P.O., Basrah, that in my
opinion, this quarantine station will be necessary if the health of the military and
civil population of the country is to be safeguarded in the event of a resumption of
the pilgrim tramc. ^
In tins letter I outlined the requirements for an observation establishment on
Quarantme Island, near Basrah, stipulating for huts for the accommodation of
1,000 persons, with all sanitary arrangements, ablution places, disinfectors, &c.