asked the Minister for Health if he will describe in detail all arrangements which are made for the detection of carriers of infectious diseases entering Dublin by land, sea and air.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Carriers of Infectious Diseases.
7.
Arrangements are in operation, on a reciprocal basis, under which health administrations in Britain and the Six Countries and in the greater part of Western Europe have undertaken to notify my Department of the name of any known contact of any of the "quarantinable diseases" who travels to this country. The "quarantinable diseases" are smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, typhus, plague and relapsing fever. In connection with the outbreaks of smallpox in Britain and Europe special arrangements to reduce the risk of the introduction of the disease into this country are in force at the main seaports and airports. Planes arriving direct from infected areas receive special attention and the passengers are individually screened. Travellers from infected areas are interrogated to ascertain their movements before arriving here, their destinations and their vaccination status; they are also given a special "warning card" and their names and addresses are forwarded to the health authorities of the areas to which they are proceeding to enable all necessary precautions to be taken locally.
Does the Minister not agree that more care is taken with people coming from a foot and mouth area than with people from a smallpox area?
Would the Minister say whether it is possible to distinguish a carrier as distinct from the person suffering from the fever?
I am advised it is not. The person may be infected and may be still within the incubation period and there would be no sign of the disease. It is quite impossible to deal with that state of affairs. We cannot take blood tests and other tests from people arriving here casually. Life has to go on, despite these occasional occurrences.
Does the Minister think that the warning card system issued on aircraft is sufficient? Like every other traveller, he is aware of the contents of the card but it does not follow that the information given on the card can be checked up in time, or even that it is accurate.
What does the Deputy propose instead? There is continual traffic between this country and Great Britain and are we to put every person arriving in this country into quarantine? Are they to hold over their business for a certain period of time? If a person wants to go out of this country to sell cattle or to transact any other business, must he be held up when he comes back? The problem is a very difficult one but we can make it very much more serious, if we do not behave in this matter as reasonable men.
The precautions taken in the case of people coming from a foot and mouth area seem to be much more stringent than those taken in the case of people coming from a smallpox area.
I have no reason to believe that.
While fully appreciating the necessity of avoiding any atmosphere of panic, if we had a case of smallpox in the city of Dublin, I think the propaganda for vaccination would be very strongly stepped up. In view of the recurrence of the disease in South Wales, does the Minister think that any additional propaganda methods are necessary to induce people to provide effective protection by getting themselves vaccinated?
There is no more effective propaganda than that which the newspapers are carrying at the moment when they rate the fatalities from this disease as very high. We can talk as much as we like but people are going to be influenced, not by what I say, but what they believe to be the case.
In view of a certain increase in travellers to this country over the Easter period, does the Minister not think the time is opportune to advise people to get smallpox vaccination? Does he not think the time is opportune for the various country medical officers of health to give warning and advice on the matter?
County Wexford certainly has never given a lead in regard to smallpox vaccination. It has been the other way round.
The Minister means compulsory vaccination. It was to compulsory vaccination that there was the objection.
I believe that is the only remedy which is really effective. If you leave it to the voluntary discretion of the people to get this done, you are leaving a very wide gap.
Is the Minister aware that county medical officers have advised, within the past few weeks, that it is not necessary to get it done?
I am not so aware, but I am aware that there is no need in the present circumstances to create a panic.
It is not a question of a panic.
It is. There has been as much talking as if there had been a case of smallpox in this country within the past three weeks.
Would the Minister not agree that there are many more precautions in other European countries than are taken here? Is it not true to say that one cannot gain admission to Spain, unless one can prove that one has been vaccinated?
There is not all that number of people travelling from this country to Spain. There is no use trying to make a political question out of this and the Labour Party might as well make up their minds to that.
I do not care what the Minister's reply is but I think we should protest strongly against the allegation of the Minister that this is a political ramp. As far as we are concerned, it is not.
That is a political matter. I am not concerned with it.
8.
asked the Minister for Health whether any particular precautions against the carrying of infectious diseases into this country are taken in regard to persons coming into Dublin through Alexandra Basin.
Suitable precautions in respect of such persons are taken by the health authority in pursuance of the Port health controls.