Health > Collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the National Government of the Republic of China

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Its value as an indication of danger has been realised in many of the Far-Eastern
countries, although some large ports are content with the policy of waiting until plague
appears before providing a service for rat destruction.
Emigration and Immigration Traffic.
The extent of this traffic needs to be considered in deciding the necessary organisation
and equipment in the ports previously referred to.
The organisation recommended in the Convention is at present unprovided, but there
is no question that there should be an official control of the medical examinations at
present being carried out unofficially at Amoy at the request of the shipping companies.
The Government, through its quarantine organisation, should provide the service for
medical examination and prophylactic treatment, and should be in a position to house
temporarily emigrants prior to their departure, in order to enable them to be kept under
observation for a sufficient time for the necessary formalities to be carried out. At present,
most of the emigrants reside in boarding-houses at Amoy for a few days prior to departure,
without any supervision by the “ State ”.
The most suitable arrangement would be to provide a quarantine establishment
at Amoy, where emigrants could be housed prior to departure at their own expense.
The cost to the emigrant would probably not be greater than the present costs levied by
the boarding-house proprietors, while the advantages of medical supervision, prophylactic
treatment and curative treatment for minor maladies would be included. If, as seems
probable, there are financial interests concerned in the traffic which advance the money
necessary to enable emigrants to proceed overseas, it should be possible to come to some
mutually satisfactory agreement regarding the expense involved.
In this connection, attention is directed to the arrangements at Manila for emigrants.
There are two systems in operation. In one, the^ shipping companies provide deten¬
tion establishments for emigrants proceeding to the United States of America. Here they
are housed, medically examined daily, vaccinated against smallpox, are submitted to
bacteriological examinations, and, if regarded as physically and mentally sound by the
representative of the United States Public Health Service, are allowed to embark. The
expenses are borne by the shipping company, which charges the emigrants a daily rate
to cover maintenance and the cost of the bacteriological examinations.
The other system concerns emigrants proceeding under contract to the sugar plan¬
tations at Hawaii. , A -a a
These emigrants are similarly housed, medically supervised and treated, and provided
with an outfit at the expense of the Sugar-Growers' Association.
Either system could be modified to suit the traffic from Amoy, but, if local interests
are prepared, as seems possible, to loan the money to provide a quarantine station under
the control of the service, it would be desirable that this should be carried into effect,
as the station would be available also for the isolation and observation of immigrants
from infected or suspected vessels.
But if, on the other hand, the proposals made in this connection do not come to
fruition, then negotiations might be entered into with the financial interests concerned
in the traffic and with the shipping companies by which an establishment is provided,
but kept under the supervision of the quarantine service. Here emigrants will be housed,
medically supervised and treated with prophylactic agents prior to their departure. At
the same time, negotiations might be entered into with the countries of transit and adop¬
tion, with a view to formulating conditions of examination, prophylactic treatment and
standards of health which will reduce the treatment needed on arrival and the rejections
for health reasons to a minimum.