International Sanitary Regulations

Abstract

This year, on October 1, the quarantine pro- visions in the existing international sanitary conventions and agreements, 13 in number, dat- ing from 1903 to 1946, were replaced by a single text-the International Sanitary Regulations of the World Health Organization.This means that uniform rules will give a maximum of pro- tection against the transmission of pestilential diseases with a minimum of interference with travel and trade.It also means that travelers on an international voyage will no longer be exposed to arbitrary action on the part of quar- antine services at the place of arrival as has hitherto been the case in many countries. Living in the PastThe lack of universal quarantine rules has been particularly grave in the field of air navi- gation, which is precisely where they are most needed.Only 29 countries ever ratified the International Sanitary Convention for Ae- rial Navigation of 1944, modifying the one of 1933.Fourteen countries, moreover, still adhered to the 1933 convention as originally writ- ten.Ten of these 43 countries, among them the United States, had made more or less sweeping reservations, reserving their freedom of action.