Office of the Historian

Minister Beaupré to the Secretary of State.

American Legation,
Buenos Aires, August 3, 1905.
No. 191.]

Sir: I have the honor to refer to my No. 57 of October 6 lasta, in which I transmitted a single copy of the Spanish text of an international sanitary convention that was agreed upon by the representatives of the three Republics of the River Plate and of that of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro and signed by them in that city on June 12, 1904, and in which I reported the approval of said convention by the Argentine Congress. The ratifications of this convention were duly exchanged in the city of Montevideo, in the Republic of Uruguay, on June 21 last. I inclose the usual number of copies of the above-mentioned international sanitary convention and act of exchange of ratifications, cut from the Boletin Oficial (Official Bulletin) of this government, No. 3,509, of the 5th ultimo; likewise the usual number of copies of an entire translation of the same into English.

I am, etc.,

A. M. Beaupré.
[Page 39]

[Inclosure.]

[Boletin Oficial No 3509 of July 5, 1905.]

ministry of foreign affairs and worship, manuel quintana, constitutional president of the argentine republic.

To all to whom this present comes, greetings:

Whereas between the Argentine Republic, the United States of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay there was negotiated and signed in the city of Rio de Janeiro the twelfth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and four an international sanitary convention, the tenor of which is as follows:

His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic, His Excellency the President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Paraguay, and His Excellency the President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, desiring to safeguard the public health without putting useless obstacles in the way of commercial transactions and the transit of travelers, resolved to celebrate a sanitary convention in order to subscribe to the fundamental articles of international hygiene that are calculated to avoid the importation and dissemination in their respective countries of oriental plague, of Asiatic cholera, and of yellow fever, and to this end named their delegates, to wit:

  • The President of the Argentine Republic, Doctors Luis Agote and Pedro Lacavera.
  • The President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, Doctors Antonio Augusto de Azevedo Sodréy and Oswaldo Goncalves Cruz.
  • The President of the Republic of Paraguay, Doctor Pedro Pena.
  • The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Doctors Federico Susviela Guarch and Ernesto Fernandez Espiro.

Who, with the exception of Dr. Federico Susviela Guarch, met on the fifth day of the month of June, one thousand nine hundred and four, in the chamber of honor of the ministry of justice and internal negotiations in the city of Rio de Janeiro, having communicated their full powers, which were found in good and due form, agreed upon the following provisions:

Chapter I.—General provisions.

  • Art. I. Each one of the contracting governments promises immediately to notify the others of the appearance of the first cases of oriental plague, yellow fever, or Asiatic cholera in their respective countries.
  • The notification shall be made by telegraph, by the sanitary authority of the country infected, to the sanitary authorities of the other countries without interfering with the information that the diplomatic or consular agents may transmit, and must supply the following data:
  • Indication of the locality in which any of these diseases may appear, date of its inception, certain or probable origin, number of cases, clinical form, mortality, and measures taken to extinguish the disease. In case of plague it shall be indicated whether the first cases were preceded by an unusual mortality of rats or not.
  • Art. II. The sanitary authority of the infected country shall send weekly to those of the other countries detailed information concerning the progress of the epidemic, giving the number of cases and of deaths occurring since the last notification, the measures adopted to avoid the dissemination of the disease and its transmission to the other contracting countries.
  • Art. III. The sanitary authority of the country that adopts precautionary measures shall communicate to the infected country the measures taken to this end, and the date on which they began to operate.
  • Art. IV. To facilitate the communication between the sanitary authorities the Governments promise to arrange a sanitary telegraphic code for their exclusive use.
  • Art. V. There shall be considered infected the locality in which repeated cases, not imported, of cholera, yellow fever, or plague occur.
  • Art. VI. The appearance of the first cases in a determined locality shall not be ground for the application of measures of defense against the locality whence they proceed unless the respective authorities shall not have taken the necessary provisions to extinguish the disease.
  • Art. VII. There shall be considered suspicious every locality that, being next to or in easy communication with other infected localities, does not suitably provide for avoiding contamination.
  • Art. VIII. Prophylactic measures may not be taken against whatever proceeds from localities near those declared infected or in easy communication with them after the moment in which the necessary provisions for avoiding contamination are made.
  • Art. IX. A locality shall cease to be considered infected when ten days shall have elapsed after the last case of any one of the three diseases referred to; provided, always, that those still sick are kept isolated.
  • Art. X. The high contracting parties shall send to the country that they may consider infected or suspicious sanitary delegates for the purpose of gathering such information (elementos de juicio) as they may consider pertinent, the authorities of the country being bound to aid them in the fulfillment of their mission.
  • Art. XI. The high contracting parties agree in adopting as the most efficacious means for the prophylactic treatment, maritime or terrestrial, isolation of the sick or suspected persons, disinfection, institution of sanitary ship-inspectors, sanitary vigilance, preventive vaccination, the old quarantine procedure, and any other measures not explicitly defined in this convention being in consequence eliminated from such treatment.
  • Art. XII. By sanitary vigilance is meant medical observation exercised by the sanitary authority of passengers or travelers proceeding from infected or suspicious points for a time that may not exceed the period of incubation of the disease against which precautionary measures are being taken.
    (a)
    In the case of passengers of 1st or 2nd class, the sanitary vigilance shall be applied on land without affecting the freedom of transit of the same, the authorities being able to resort to the system of sanitary passports, to demand a deposit of money, which shall be returned at the end of the period of sanitary vigilance, or to adopt any other analogous course that they may judge more adequate for the purpose of guaranteeing the efficacy of the medical observation;
    (b)
    In case of passengers of 3rd class the sanitary vigilance shall be exercised in the buildings and under the restrictions that the sanitary authority may believe wise.
  • Art. XIII. Postal correspondence shall be admitted without any restriction whatever, only there shall be submitted to the appropriate treatment such postal parcels as contain used objects susceptible of contamination.
  • Art. XIV. The high contracting parties obligate themselves to receive without distinction into their establishments, destined for the aid of isolation of the sick, those in transit, to whatever destination or from whatever place of departure they may be proceeding.

Chapter II.—Prophylactic measures on land.

When the infected locality is near the frontiers of the contracting countries, measures for sanitary defence shall be applied in accordance with the following principles:

(a)
Communications between the infected country and those that are not infected shall be intercepted, the sanitary cordons and the land quarantines being abolished;
(b)
The high contracting parties reserve to themselves the right to limit the points of the frontier at which the transit of passengers and merchandise may be effected;
(c)
The passengers shall be submitted to a medical inspection, the authorities being enabled to prohibit the passage of sick, suspicious, or convalescent persons of any of the diseases referred to;
(d)
The passengers shall be kept under observation for a period corresponding to that of incubation of each one the diseases, the importation of which it is sought to avoid;
(e)
In the case of cholera or plague, clothing in general and all objects susceptible of transmitting the disease shall be disinfected.

Chapter III.—Maritime and fluvial prophylaxy.

Item I.—General dispositions.

  • Art. XVI. The high contracting parties agree in not closing their ports, whatever be the sanitary condition of the ships and the points whence they come.
  • Likewise they reserve to themselves the right to limit the number of the ports to be devoted to commercial operations with the infected countries.
  • Art. XVII. No vessel shall be turned away, from whatever place it may come or whatever be its sanitary condition, always provided that it submits to the prophylactic treatment indicated in this convention.
  • Art. XVIII. When a vessel touches at a contaminated or suspicious port, the treatment applied to the baggage shall be limited to that of the passengers that embark there, always provided that they are quartered in distinct places and completely isolated.

Item II.

  • Art. XIX. The high contracting parties agree to recognize as:
    (a)
    An uninfected ship, such an one as, though proceeding from an infected or suspicious port, has had on board no cases or deaths from plague, cholera, or yellow fever, and no epidemic of rats previous to its departure, during the voyage or at the moment of arrival.
    (b)
    An infected ship, every one that proceeding from or touching at an infected or suspicious port shall have had on board cases of deaths from plague, cholera, or yellow fever, and epidemics of rats before departure or during the voyage or at the moment of arrival.
  • Art. XX. In order to enjoy the privileges and advantages of the present convention, every vessel destined for the transportation of passengers must have permanently on board a physician, apparatus of disinfection for the extermination of rats, mosquito nets, medical supplies, disinfectants, and rooms intended for the isolation of the sick.

Item III.—Sanitary ship inspectors.

  • Art. XXI. The high contracting parties agree to establish a corps of sanitary ship inspectors with international functions.
    §1.
    Each country reserves to itself the right to determine the number of inspectors, according to the demands of its navigation, except in the case of being unable to assist in this service because of special circumstances.
    §2.
    Only physicians having a diploma from the official faculties of the respective countries shall discharge the duties of sanitary ship inspector.
    §3.
    The appointment of these functionaries shall be made by means of competition and after a special examination and according to the programme formulated by the sanitary authority of each country.
    §4.
    The appointment of each inspector shall be communicated to the sanitary authorities of the other countries, giving his name, his scientific titles, and the date of the competition or examination.
    §5.
    The sanitary ship inspectors must present to the sanitary authority of the ports of call or destination a minute report of all the happenings of the voyage with the measures taken at the point of departure or during the voyage.
    §6.
    The declarations of the inspectors, of whatever nationality, shall be valid before the sanitary authority of the high contracting parties and must be taken into consideration for the application of the ultimate treatment.
  • Art. XXII. Every time that it is shown that the sanitary ship inspector has been negligent in the discharge of his commission he shall be suspended for the term of one to three months. If he presents a false declaration to the sanitary authority he shall be dismissed from office.
  • Art. XXIII. A passenger vessel that does not carry a sanitary inspector shall be submitted to the treatment that corresponds to ships classified in Art. 19, letter b, the sanitary authority reserving to itself in such cases the right to supplement these measures by others that offer greater guarantee.

Item IV.—Treatment of oriental plague.

Measures to he taken at the infected port before departure.

  • Art. XXIV. Ships that call at infected or suspicious ports shall take precautionary measures to prevent the entrance of rats into the ship by the ropes, mooring cables, chains, and other means of communication between the ship and the land.
  • Art. XXV. Ships that leave infected or suspicious ports, being the port from which they proceed, shall, once the operation of loading is completely terminated, be submitted to the processes considered most efficacious for the extermination of the rats.
  • Art. XXVI. The sanitary ship inspectors shall be present at the embarkation of passengers in the infected port and must prevent the admission into the ship of such persons as present evident or suspicious signs of oriental plague. They may also previous to the embarkation of the passengers of third class demand the disinfection of their baggage when they believe it to be expedient.

Measures to be taken during the journey.

  • Art. XXVII. During the journey the sanitary ship inspector shall with minute vigilance watch over the health of the passengers and crew, investigate and verify the appearance of rats on board, and gather all the data necessary to be able to determine in the most precise form possible the sanitary condition of the vessel.
  • Art. XXVIII. If cases of plague occur on board during the journey, the sanitary ship inspector shall proceed rigorously to isolate the sick in a room intended for that purpose and to disinfect the articles of use of the same.
  • He shall proceed in case it is accepted to the vaccination with serum of the other passengers and of the ship’s crew.

Measures to be taken in the port of destination.

  • Art. XXIX. In the port of destination uninfected ships shall be submitted to the following treatment:
  • Ships that were in the last infected or suspected port submitted to the measures indicated in Arts. 24, 25, and 26, and during the voyage have not been in contact with infected or [Page 42] suspicious sources shall be freely received. The passengers and crew must be submitted to sanitary observation which shall not exceed five days, counting from the last port or infected or suspicious source to which exposed.
  • Art. XXX. In ships in which the precautions indicated in Art. 24 have not been taken or which have not been submitted to the measures indicated in Art. 25 the disembarkation of passengers shall be permitted with the observance of what is ordered in Art. 29, and they shall proceed before the discharge of cargo to the extermination of the rats that the vessel may contain.
  • Art. XXXI. Infected vessels shall be submitted to the following treatment:
    (a)
    The sick shall be disembarked and isolated.
    (b)
    The other passengers shall be disembarked after vaccination and submitted to sanitary observation for not more than five days, counting from the hour of disembarkation.
    (c)
    The passengers that do not accept vaccination shall be submitted to sanitary observation, in such quarters and under such restriction as the sanitary authority may designate, during the period provided for in the preceding paragraph.
    (d)
    The crew shall be allowed to disembark without previous vaccination, but must be submitted to the same sanitary observation as indicated in the preceding paragraph.
    (e)
    After the disembarkation of the passengers the vessel shall be disinfected, and the rats shall be exterminated previous to the discharge of its cargo. These operations shall be effected with the Clayton apparatus or any other system that in the judgment of the high contracting parties meets the condition of this convention.
    (f)
    The clothing and other objects of personal use of the passengers and of the crew shall be properly disinfected.
  • Art. XXXII. The freight vessels that come from an infected or suspected port shall be submitted to the measures indicated in Art. 31, letter e, whatever may have been its treatment in the port of departure, or in the last infected or suspected port. These operations having been effected, the cargo, whatever its nature, shall be received without any restriction.

Item V.—Treatment of yellow fever.

Measures to be taken in the injected port before departure.

  • Art. XXXIII. Vessels that touch at infected or suspected ports must take the necessary precautions for the purpose of avoiding their being invaded by mosquitoes of the place.
  • Art. XXXIV. Vessels that sail from infected or suspected ports as their original port of departure shall, once the operation of loading has been terminated, be submitted to the treatment considered most efficacious by the sanitary authority for the extermination of the mosquitoes that may exist there.
  • Art. XXXV. The sanitary ship inspectors must be present at the embarkation of the passengers in the infected port and must prevent the admission on board of persons that show evident or suspicious symptoms of yellow fever.

Measures to be taken during the voyage.

  • Art. XXXVI. During the voyage the sanitary ship inspectors must proceed to a minute observation of the health of the passengers and crew, inquire into and verify the existence of mosquitoes, larvӕ, or nymphs on board, employing every means that they may believe calculated to destroy them, and shall gather all the data necessary to enable them to determine in the most precise form possible their sanitary condition.
  • Art. XXXVII. If during the voyage there appear suspected or confirmed cases of yellow fever, the sanitary ship inspector shall proceed to isolate them by means of adequate mosquito nets, by every means preventing the sick being stung by mosquitoes in addition to the other prophylactic measures that they may deem it wise to adopt.

Measures to be taken in the port of destination.

  • Art. XXXVIII. In the port of destination, vessels proceeding from ports infected or supposed to be infected with yellow fever, shall be submitted to the following treatment:
    (a)
    Vessels free of disease that in the infected port shall have taken the precautions indicated in Art. 33, or been submitted to the treatment of Art. 34, shall be freely received, the passengers and crew having to be submitted to sanitary observation for not more than six days, counting from the last infected or suspected port. The clothing and objects of personal use of the passengers shall be submitted to special prophylactic treatment in the judgment of the sanitary authority.
    (b)
    Vessels free of disease that shall not have taken the precautions indicated in Art. 33, or been submitted to the treatment prescribed in Art. 34, shall likewise be freely received, all the provisions of the preceding paragraph being observed previous to the discharge of the cargo, the mosquitoes that may exist on board being exterminated.
  • Art. XXXIX. Infected vessels shall be submitted to the following treatment:
    (a)
    The sick shall be disembarked in such manner as not be stung by mosquitoes and shall be properly isolated.
    (b)
    The other passengers shall be disembarked and be submitted to sanitary observation for not more than six days, counting from the moment of disembarkation.
    (c)
    After the disembarkation of the passengers the mosquitoes, larvae (eggs), and nymphs on board shall be exterminated, and other prophylactic measures in relation to the clothing and objects of personal use of the passengers may, in the judgment of the sanitary authority, be effected.
  • Art. XXXX. The cargo, of whatever nature it may be and of whatever sanitary classification the boat that carries it may be, shall be received without any restriction whatever.

Item VI—Treatment of Asiatic cholera.

Measures to be taken in the infected port before departure.

  • Art. XXXXI. Vessels that touch at ports infected or suspected to be infected by Asiatic cholera shall not allow the passengers in transit or the crew to land, except for the unavoidable purposes of the ship’s service.
  • Art. XXXXII. Vessels that leave an infected or suspected port as their original port of departure shall, previous to their departure, proceed to clean and disinfect their water tanks and provide themselves with water that in the judgment of the sanitary authority is pure.
  • Art. XXXXIII. The sanitary ship inspectors shall be present at the embarkation of the passengers in the infected port, and must prevent the admission on board of persons that present evident or suspicious symptoms of cholera, and must likewise require the previous disinfection of the baggages of the passengers and of that of the crew before departure.

Measures to be taken during the voyage.

  • Art. XXXXIV. During the voyage the sanitary ship inspector shall proceed to a minute observation of the health of the passengers and crew, and shall gather all the data to enable them to determine in the most precise form possible their sanitary condition.
  • Art. XXXXV. If during the voyage there shall present themselves suspicious or confirmed cases of Asiatic cholera the sanitary ship inspector shall proceed to isolate them and rigorously to disinfect the quarters, clothing, and objects of personal use of the same.

Measures to be taken in the port of destination.

  • Art. XXXXVI. In the port of destination vessels proceeding from ports infected or supposed to be infected with Asiatic cholera shall undergo the following treatment:
    (a)
    Vessels free of disease that in the infected port shall have taken the precaution indicated in Art. 41 or undergone the treatment presented in Arts. 42 and 43 shall be freely received, the passengers and crew being submitted to sanitary observation for not more than five days, counting from the last infected port or point of contact.
    (b)
    Vessels free of disease that shall not have undergone the treatment prescribed in Arts. 42 and 43 shall only be freely received after the disinfection of the passengers’ and crew’s baggage.
    (c)
    The passengers and crew shall be submitted to sanitary observation for a period not exceeding five days, counting from the moment of disembarkation.
  • Art. XXXXVII Infected vessels shall be submitted to the following treatment:
    (a)
    Fulfillment of the requirements of the sanitary authority in respect of avoiding contamination of the water of the port.
    (b)
    The sick shall be disembarked and properly isolated.
    (c)
    The other passengers shall be disembarked and submitted to sanitary observation for not more than five days, counting from the moment of disembarkation.
    (d)
    The clothing and other objects of personal use of the passengers and crew shall be submitted to proper disinfection.
    (e)
    After the disembarkation of the passengers the vessel shall be unloaded and submitted to rigorous disinfection.
    (f)
    The cargo, of whatever nature it may be, shall not suffer any treatment whatever.

Chapter IV.—Supplementary provisions.

  • Art. XXXXVIII. The high contracting parties recognize as valid the measures that may be applied to vessels in any one of the four countries when the same are accredited by official document.
  • Art. XXXXIX. The high contracting parties agree to take sanitary precautions against vessels proceeding from infected ports and countries foreign to this convention, according to the principles provided in it.
  • Art. 50. In case the progress of the science supply to the sanitary practice new elements that are judged efficacious, the sanitary authorities of the high contracting parties may, proceeding in common accord, incorporate them in this convention.
  • Art. 51. The duration of the present convention shall be for four years, and, not being denounced by any one of the high contracting parties six months before the termination of this period, it shall be considered extended for four years more.
  • Art. 52. The present convention shall go into effect immediately after being ratified by the high contracting parties.
  • Art. 53. The present convention must be ratified in the city of Montevideo within six months, counting from the date when it was signed.

The delegates sign four duplicate copies of the present convention.

City of Rio de Janeiro, the twelfth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and four.

P. Lacavara,

Goncalvez Cruz,

Luis Agote,

Dr. A. A. De Azevedo,

P. Pena,

E. Fernandez Espiro.

Therefore the before-inserted convention having been seen and examined, and having been approved by Congress by law No. 4475, of the twenty-ninth of September, of one thousand nine hundred and four, I accept, confirm, and ratify it, promising and obliging myself in the name of the nation to observe it and to have it observed faithfully and inviolably.

In faith of which I sign with my hand the present instrument of ratification, sealing it with the great seal of the arms of the Republic and endorsed by the minister secretary of the department of foreign affairs and worship.

Given in the city of Buenos Aires, capital of the Argentine Republic, on the thirty-first day of the month of October, of the year one thousand nine hundred and four.

[l. s.] Manuel Quintana,
C. Rodriguez Larreta, Jr.

Met in the ministry of foreign affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, their excellencies Dr. José Romeu, minister of this branch; Señor Francisco Xavier da Cunha, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States of Brazil; Dr. Mariano Demaría, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic, and Señor Antonio Sosa, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Paraguay, with the object of proceeding to the exchange of the ratification of the international sanitary convention, signed by the plenipotentiaries of the respective countries in Río de Janeiro, on June 12, 1904.

The minister, Dr. Romeu, made known that he was provided with the necessary plenipotency and with the three instruments of ratification to proceed to the exchange.

The minister, Dr. Demaría, made like declaration and to that effect exhibited his full powers and corresponding documents.

The minister of Brazil, Don Francisco Xavier da Cunha, made known that, owing to fortuitous circumstances, he could not present the documents indispensable to effect said exchange, which according to telegraphic advice he ought soon to receive, for which a prudential period could be fixed

The minister of Paraguay, in his turn, made known that he also lacked the respective plenipotency and instruments of ratification, which he had not received because of the state of war in which his country found itself involved, which rendered communication difficult, accepting for himself the proposal of the plenipotentiary of Brazil relative to the fixing of a new period for the exchange.

The minister Demaría declared that he did not consider himself authorized to agree to this proposition, because the period was stipulated in the convention itself, sanctioned by the Argentine Congress, and that he would limit himself to submitting the case to his government and to awaiting instructions.

The minister Dr. Romeu proposed that the period be one month, and requested the ministers to consult their governments in order to establish it with the least possible delay in a new protocol, which should be framed to this effect.

In faith in which the plenipotentiaries had the present act framed, of which they shall receive a legalized copy, which they signed and sealed with their seals in Montevideo on the twelfth day of the month of December of 1904.

José Romeu.

F. Xavier da Cunha.

Mariano Demaría.

Antonio Sosa.

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Act of exchange.

Met in the ministry of foreign affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay their excellencies Doctor Alexander Gueselaga, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic; Doctor José Romeu, minister of the department; Señor Francisco Xavier da Cunha, envoy extraordinary of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, and Doctor José Z. Caminos, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Paraguay, with the object of appointing a date for the exchange of the ratifications of the international sanitary convention of Rio de Janeiro, in virtue of that which was agreed upon in the 1st reunion of the twelfth of December, one thousand nine hundred and four, having expressed that they were authorized by their governments to proceed to such end, and being provided with the documents required in order to verify the exchange, resolved that the same should take place at once, because there was no reason that justified new delay.

In virtue thereof their powers having been exhibited by the plenipotentiaries and found in good and due form, the instruments of ratification of the convention in question having been duly read and their agreement to the stipulations of the same having been manifested, the exchange was verified in the usual form.

In faith in which the plenipotentiaries had the present act prepared in four copies, which they signed and sealed in Montevideo on the twenty-first day of the month of June, one thousand nine hundred and five.

[seal.]
Alejandro Gueselaga.

[seal.]
José Romeu.

[seal.]
F. Xavier da Cunha.

[seal.]
José Z. Caminos.
  1. Not printed.↩