International defense against epidemic diseases

From Jules Héricourt's view

Abstract

The epidemic diseases that devastated the European populations added to the miseries that existed until the mid-nineteenth century, causing considerable loss of human life. The European continent has a long history of plague, a disease caused by the Y. pestis bacteria. Contrary to popular belief, bubonic plague is not a disease of the past. It is still present in more than a dozen countries around the world. This paper analyzes Jules Héricourt's ideas regarding the international transmissibility of epidemic diseases and how to mitigate their chains. It is essentially based on his work Les Frontières de la Maladie, namely on Défense internationale contre les maladies épidémiques, et systémes quarantenaires. In 1901, an outbreak of plague ravaged the passengers and crew of the ship Senegal on a Mediterranean cruise. A quarantine was imposed on the entire crew and 174 passengers in the lazaretto in the French archipelago of Frioul. There was one death. The lack of minimum services and immediate disinfection measures for passengers and their belongings could have exacerbated the problem. Héricourt, physician, co-author of the serotherapy, disagrees with the methods adopted by health authorities, which would be illusory in the international defense against epidemic diseases. The author proposes a practical and effective double solution to the problem of the transmission of exotic diseases in sea voyages: the enhancement of the health pass and the modification of the role of the doctor on board. All passengers from contaminated territories should carry a health pass, under strict control by the authorities. The on-board doctor is responsible for establishing himself as a true agent of the health administration. As a hygienist, he unmasks potential patients, based on medical examinations during the trip, and prevents passengers who are considered healthy from contaminating the community, as they are effectively ill.