Observation (z5939)

Observation (French: observation), the temporary isolation of persons suspected of infectious diseases or who have been in contact with infectious patients. The term observation is now introduced as an official term in the texts of international sanitary conventions. In the 1926 convention, the following definition of observation is given: 'The word observation means the isolation of persons either on board a vessel or at a sanitary station until they receive a free pratique' (i.e., freedom of movement). In the draft of the International Air Convention (1931), the same term observation is defined as follows: 'The word observation means the isolation of persons in suitable accommodation.' Thus, observation is a particular form of isolation (see Isolation of patients), applied to healthy persons who, for some reason, may be considered suspicious of infection, just as hospitalization is a particular form of isolation applied to those who have fallen ill. The periods of observation are established according to the incubation period of the corresponding contagious disease. According to the 1926 convention, these periods for plague are not more than 6 days, for cholera - 5, for yellow fever - 6, for typhus - 12 and for smallpox - 14 days. The convention provides for observation only in relation to passengers on vessels coming from affected areas. At land frontiers, observation has been abolished (Article 58 of the convention); an exception is made in cases of pulmonary plague, for which observation is permitted even at land frontiers. Observation, which was formerly widely applied (see Quarantine), is now increasingly being replaced by a more convenient form of supervision, so-called surveillance (see Surveillance).