Guardians Of Our Country's Health

at the outermost points of our large Harbors the United States quarantine stations stand guard over the health of our country from sunrise to sunset medical officers are on duty to inspect the ships arriving from foreign ports so that sickness or disease cannot enter this land the doctor and the sanitary inspector leave at 6:00 in the morning to examine the ships that have arrived during the night the quarantine stations are under the United States Public Health Service in Washington and the procedure is the same in all ports the officers know in advance which ships are due to arrive before the inspection they study the health records of these ships and also health conditions in the ports the ships have visited since their last American inspection Dr Mike Will examine the passengers and crew and inspector Sheridan will inspect the ship and cargo Harbor Pilots meet the ships far out in the bay and bring them into the harbor no one else is allowed on board until the quarantine officers have finished their inspection and have given the ship a clean bill of health just think every year 50,000 ships enter the United States from foreign ports and must be inspected by the public health officials the officers report immediately to their friend the captain of the ship they know him well as his ship comes to this port regularly the captain inspects his ship often and keeps a record of all cases of sickness on board he must report any events on the ship that are of medical importance the officers will go over the ship's papers with a captain every person on the ship is called for medical inspection an officer helps the doctor check each person to be sure the doctor sees everyone on the list this is a familiar procedure in ports all over the world Dr Mike is tactful and considerate with the crew but at the same time he is thorough he looks carefully at their eyes their skin and their throats to detect any sign of sickness he has had special training in the quarantine diseases and quickly will recognize their symptoms yonlu does not feel well the doctor asks him to raise his shirt yes he has a slight rash probably due to the heat down in the engine room he sends yanl to quarters to remove his clothes for further examination later when he examined yanl in the crew quarters he found nothing serious the doctor next examines the officers in the meantime inspector Sheridan has been examining the ship he looks around the cargo for signs of rats as they carry the plague he has already checked the ventilation the plumbing and the conditions of the food in the galley and pantries he makes sure that the people handling the food are clean he is trained to judge from appearances the health condition of the ship when the medical inspection is finished the ship lowers the quarantine flag this is the signal that the customs and immigration officers May board for their inspection a Dutch ship is entering the harbor and the quarantine launch speeds out to meet her every effort is made to inspect the ships as soon as possible as every minute of delay is costly to the steamship company this Dutch ship the sarangan of the Rotterdam Lloyd company is arriving from the Orient with a cargo of cpra tea Rubber and cinnamon she took on her cargo at Singapore Salon Manila and Bom Bay all are plague ports the quarantinable diseases are chera plague small poox typhus and yellow fever let's see what happens during This ship's medical inspection the doctor has examined the ship's papers and now is looking over the crew he must not make a mistake if he should miss a case of a contagious disease a new epidemic might start in this port the doctors proceed with a cheerful Pleasant manner but at all times a real responsibility rests on their shoulders these rugged Sailors have a healthy color from their months at Sea by John why the beard you look like an old sea salt well Chris did you get over that broken arm good all you're looking fine hunts say Pete you don't look so well what's the matter the boy been making you do all the work a rash and your stomach upset eh better let me look you over in the medical room too bad boy the doctor talks the case over with the officers he fears the boy has chickenpox this doesn't quarantine the ship but the boy will be sent to a hospital in Port further examination of Pete showed that he did have chickenpox now the three dining room boys from java they are accustomed to the medical examination and smile confidently at the doctor just think in one year the United States quarantine inspectors examined around a million crewmen on ships entering this country from foreign ports the doctor continues his examination and inspects the officers next Dr Mike signals the pilot on the boarding boat to radio Dr km the chief medical officer to order a bed at the hospital the boarding boat has direct contact with a quarantine station by way of radio communication that enables Dr Mike to consult Dr Kemp in case of any emergency Q2 calling Qs Q2 calling Qs a familiar sound in Dr Kemp's office Dr Kemp listens intently and is sure the diagnosis is correct in case of a doubtful diagnosis Dr Kemp goes to the ship for consultation Dr Kemp calls his assistant to make arrangements with the hospital and to have an ambulance meet the boat that makes three cases for the hospital in the last 2 days another ship the margarita has radioed in that they have severe sickness aboard the ambulance was at the dock when the sarangan arrived and took Pete to the General [Music] Hospital it was a good thing too because he had a bad case of chickenpox he was cured and rejoined his ship on its return trip to this port Dr Kemp calls the margarita for later news on the patient there it sounds like an attack of appendicitis this is all in the day's work for Dr Kemp the United States Public Health doctors save many lives in their longdistance radio treatment of patients at Sea the chief officer is responsible for the medical inspections and runs the station with its staff of 20 men meantime Dr Mike and inspector Sheriff proceed to the next ship on the day's list a modern Swedish freighter of the Johnson line she carries a cargo of newsprint paper wood pul and fine cheese from the Scandinavian countries her last port in England was Liverpool which is not a plague port on Route however she stopped at a South American plague port and so the quarantine officers will look especially for signs of diseases that might be brought in from South America they will check for the South American mosquito that carries yellow fever Dr Mike examines the ship's papers and chats with his friend the captain these ships have very fine passenger accommodations and the doctor will check each person whose name is on the passenger list first he examines the family of a prominent planter from Santo Domingo seor Perez brings his little daughter Maria up for her examination she immediately likes Dr Mike does she have any aches or pains in indeed she has and she tells the doctor all about it didn't she pinch her finger in the door and it still hurts too see see doctor well she'd like to talk longer with a nice doctor but now it's Roger's turn he really can't think of a single thing to tell the kind doctor he just feels fine and he's been having a wonderful time on board too the children look very well then the doctor examines their father and next the children's nurse their mother is waiting for them in the United States the doctor treats everyone alike and gives each person on board his careful attention Mr bannard intends to live in the United States permanent all people who are entering permanently must have blood tests and x-rays of their chests Dr Mike examines Mr Banner's x-ray everyone must have a record of these tests before he can get a visa to enter the United States after Dr Mike has examined the crew this ship will have passed quarantine the last one to be examined this morning when airplanes arrive in the United States from foreign ports they also must pass a medical quarantine examination in a year over a million aircraft passengers arrive in this country from foreign ports and they must be examined by the United States Public Health Service the public health doctors are on hand to meet each plane this plane is arriving from Mexico the gang plank is rolled into position and after the door is open Dr lorri is the first person to board he must inspect the airplane's papers and clear the plane before before anyone can disembark the pilot will tell him if anyone is ill he watches the passengers as they come down the gang Plank and proceed into the medical quarantine offices at the airport they will have to pass the inspection of the Public Health Service the immigration service and the Customs Service after the people have left the Customs officer examines the plane and an officer from the United States Department of Agriculture sprays every corner with a heavy spray to be sure that no insects such as mosquitoes bring disease into the country the freight also is sprayed so that no flies or beetles that might attack our plants can enter the country even before the plane lands the law demands that it be sprayed throughout this spray is lighter and does not harm the passengers the doctor carefully examines each person in the medical quarantine waiting room if there is any indication of sickness he examines the passengers thoroughly in his private office there are many laws to fit different emergencies we are beginning to understand the painstaking care with which the Public Health Service doctors guard every gate of entry into the United States the United States Public Health Service also maintains quarantine stations at our border points of Entry at this port near San Diego cars are lined up waiting to enter the country each car first is checked by an immigration inspector if the occupants of the car were born in America the examination is short however when a person goes across the line into a foreign country he should have proof of his identity even if he is spending only the day there people coming to the United States to work or for short visits do not have to pass a medical examination but must show their card of identity to the immigration officers at this gate an immigration officer checks the people who are walking across the border he distinguishes between the visitors who cross the line for the day and the people who desire to enter the United States permanently there are many different laws but each person must pass the Keen eyes of the immigration inspector and must have the proper identification this man is in too much of a hurry just a it there the officer calls him back and reexamines his papers he quickly will catch any irregularity in the right wing of the building there are large quarters for the immigration department and for the medical quarantine service after the entering people passed the immigration officers those who are to see the doctor wait in the yard inside Dr Kelly is busy taking tests of the Mexican people who wish to enter this country Dr Kelly looks over the cases that he is to examine Pedro is having a blood test the nurse writes up the history in each case next several people are waiting to be vaccinated they cannot enter the country at this time but will take their tests to the American Cil in Mexico if the results show that they are healthy and that they would make desirable citizens then the American Council will issue them papers or visas to enter this country baby Gonzales is frightened after all this is his first vaccination and it wasn't his idea to enter a strange country the kind doctor reassures him and also his mother there well that wasn't so bad after all and so day in and day out the doctors are on duty Uncle Sam's faithful Guardians the public health doctors stand guard at all ports of Entry to examine persons entering this country whether they enter by train from Canada or Mexico by airplane from any of the airports of Europe Asia or South America or through one of our great Harbors they stand guard to protect the health of the United States of America