British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 629

CHAPTER XVI.

salem. It produces and maintains a sufficient store of lymph to meet the routine and epidemic requirements of Palestine and Trans-Jordan and the Army in the Middle East. During 1944, 8 million doses of vaccine were manufactured. Since 1923, the year in which the Department's antirabies service was established, the policy followed in the administration of treatment is that of complete decentralization. The vaccine is prepared by the bacteriological staff of the central laboratories, from which it is issued to 45 treatment centres established in the more populous areas. The vaccine is also issued to Trans-Jordan and to the Army in Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. During 191'1, 2,484 persons received treatment, and over 250,000 c.cs. of vaccine were prepared for human and for animal inoculation.

Other prophylactic vaccines prepared by the Department's laboratories in 1944 included 190,120 c.cs. of anti-enteric, 12,660 c.cs. of anti-cholera and 249,410 c.cs. of anti-plague vaccine.

(xxvi) To protect, by quarantine measures, the ports and land frontiers from invasion by epidemic disease, and to provide lazarets and disinfecting stations at the ports.

The Department maintains a quarantine service in conformity with the requirements of the International Sanitary Convention l944 and the International Convention for Aerial Navigation 1944 at the ports of Haifa, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Gaza and Acre and at the airports at Lydda, the Dead Sea and Haifa; for the frontier control at Kantara and when necessary, on the Syrian and Trans-Jordan frontiers. Quarantine lazarets and port disinfecting stations are maintained at Haifa and Jaffa. The quarantine service provides for the inoculation and vaccination of all immigrants and for the surveillance of passengers on arrival in the country.

Regular measures are taken by. means of trapping and postmortem examination to detect epizootics in the rat population in port areas. 30,603 rats were caught and examined during the past year. In 1944, 871 steamships and 758 sailing vessels were the subject of health visits by the quarantine medical officers of the ports. The number of aircraft landing in Palestine was 2,029; persons entering Palestine and subjected to surveillance totalled 17 ,990 of whom 13,339 were travellers by sea and 4,651 by air.

The Department undertakes all work in connection with the Moslem pilgrimage to the Hijaz from Palestine and has, during the war, organised sea transport for pilgrims from Syria,

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