Article
1
Definitions
1
For the purposes of the International Health Regulations (hereinafter the “IHR” or “Regulations’’):
“affected” means persons, baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods, postal parcels or human remains that are infected or contaminated, or carry sources of infection or contamination, so as to constitute a public health risk;
“affected area” means a geographical location specifically for which health measures have been recommended by WHO under these Regulations; “aircraft” means an aircraft making an international voyage; “airport” means any airport where international flights arrive or depart; “arrival” of a conveyance means:
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a)
in the case of a seagoing vessel, arrival or anchoring in the defined area of a port;
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b)
in the case of an aircraft, arrival at an airport;
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c)
in the case of an inland navigation vessel on an international voyage, arrival at a point of entry;
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d)
in the case of a train or road vehicle, arrival at a point of entry;
“baggage” means the personal effects of a traveller;
“cargo” means goods carried on a conveyance or in a container;
“competent authority” means an authority responsible for the implementation and application of health measures under these Regulations;
“container” means an article of transport equipment:
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a)
of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use;
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b)
specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading;
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c)
fitted with devices permitting its ready handling, particularly its transfer from one mode of transport to another; and
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d)
specially designed as to be easy to fill and empty;
“container loading area” means a place or facility set aside for containers used in international traffic;
“contamination” means the presence of an infectious or toxic agent or matter on a human or animal body surface, in or on a product prepared for consumption or on other inanimate objects, including conveyances, that may constitute a public health risk;
“conveyance” means an aircraft, ship, train, road vehicle or other means of transport on an international voyage;
“conveyance operator” means a natural or legal person in charge of a conveyance or their agent;
“crew” means persons on board a conveyance who are not passengers;
“decontamination” means a procedure whereby health measures are taken to eliminate an infectious or toxic agent or matter on a human or animal body surface, in or on a product prepared for consumption or on other inanimate objects, including conveyances, that may constitute a public health risk;
“departure” means, for persons, baggage, cargo, conveyances or goods, the act of leaving a territory;
“deratting” means the procedure whereby health measures are taken to control or kill rodent vectors of human disease present in baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, facilities, goods and postal parcels at the point of entry;
“Director-General” means the Director-General of the World Health Organization;
“disease” means an illness or medical condition, irrespective of origin or source, that presents or could present significant harm to humans;
“disinfection” means the procedure whereby health measures are taken to control or kill infectious agents on a human or animal body surface or in or on baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods and postal parcels by direct exposure to chemical or physical agents;
“disinsection” means the procedure whereby health measures are taken to control or kill the insect vectors of human diseases present in baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods and postal parcels;
“event” means a manifestation of disease or an occurrence that creates a potential for disease;
“free pratique” means permission for a ship to enter a port, embark or disembark, discharge or load cargo or stores; permission for an aircraft, after landing, to embark or disembark, discharge or load cargo or stores; and permission for a ground transport vehicle, upon arrival, to embark or disembark, discharge or load cargo or stores;
“goods” mean tangible products, including animals and plants, transported on an international voyage, including for utilization on board a conveyance;
“ground crossing” means a point of land entry in a State Party, including one utilized by road vehicles and trains;
“ground transport vehicle” means a motorized conveyance for overland transport on an international voyage, including trains, coaches, lorries and automobiles;
“health measure” means procedures applied to prevent the spread of disease or contamination; a health measure does not include law enforcement or security measures;
“ill person” means an individual suffering from or affected with a physical ailment that may pose a public health risk;
“infection” means the entry and development or multiplication of an infectious agent in the body of humans and animals that may constitute a public health risk;
“inspection” means the examination, by the competent authority or under its supervision, of areas, baggage, containers, conveyances, facilities, goods or postal parcels, including relevant data and documentation, to determine if a public health risk exists;
“international traffic” means the movement of persons, baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods or postal parcels across an international border, including international trade;
“international voyage” means:
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a)
in the case of a conveyance, a voyage between points of entry in the territories of more than one State, or a voyage between points of entry in the territory or territories of the same State if the conveyance has contacts with the territory of any other State on its voyage but only as regards those contacts;
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b)
in the case of a traveller, a voyage involving entry into the territory of a State other than the territory of the State in which that traveller commences the voyage;
“intrusive” means possibly provoking discomfort through close or intimate contact or questioning;
“invasive” means the puncture or incision of the skin or insertion of an instrument or foreign material into the body or the examination of a body cavity. For the purposes of these Regulations, medical examination of the ear, nose and mouth, temperature assessment using an ear, oral or cutaneous thermometer, or thermal imaging; medical inspection; auscultation; external palpation; retinoscopy; external collection of urine, faeces or saliva samples; external measurement of blood pressure; and electrocardiography shall be considered to be non-invasive;
“isolation” means separation of ill or contaminated persons or affected baggage, containers, conveyances, goods or postal parcels from others in such a manner as to prevent the spread of infection or contamination;
“medical examination” means the preliminary assessment of a person by an authorized health worker or by a person under the direct supervision of the competent authority, to determine the person’s health status and potential public health risk to others, and may include the scrutiny of health documents, and a physical examination when justified by the circumstances of the individual case;
“National IHR Focal Point” means the national centre, designated by each State Party, which shall be accessible at all times for communications with WHO IHR Contact Points under these Regulations;
“Organization” or “WHO” means the World Health Organization;
“permanent residence” has the meaning as determined in the national law of the State Party concerned;
“personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person;
“point of entry” means a passage for international entry or exit of travellers, baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods and postal parcels as well as agencies and areas providing services to them on entry or exit;
“port” means a seaport or a port on an inland body of water where ships on an international voyage arrive or depart;
“postal parcel” means an addressed article or package carried internationally by postal or courier services;
“public health emergency of international concern” means an extraordinary event which is determined, as provided in these Regulations:
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(i)
to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and
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(ii)
to potentially require a coordinated international response;
“public health observation” means the monitoring of the health status of a traveller over time for the purpose of determining the risk of disease transmission;
“public health risk” means a likelihood of an event that may affect adversely the health of human populations, with an emphasis on one which may spread internationally or may present a serious and direct danger;
“quarantine” means the restriction of activities and/or separation from others of suspect persons who are not ill or of suspect baggage, containers, conveyances or goods in such a manner as to prevent the possible spread of infection or contamination;
“recommendation” and “recommended” refer to temporary or standing recommendations issued under these Regulations;
“reservoir” means an animal, plant or substance in which an infectious agent normally lives and whose presence may constitute a public health risk;
“road vehicle” means a ground transport vehicle other than a train;
“scientific evidence” means information furnishing a level of proof based on the established and accepted methods of science;
“scientific principles” means the accepted fundamental laws and facts of nature known through the methods of science;
“ship” means a seagoing or inland navigation vessel on an international voyage;
“standing recommendation” means non-binding advice issued by WHO for specific ongoing public health risks pursuant to Article 16 regarding appropriate health measures for routine or periodic application needed to prevent or reduce the international spread of disease and minimize interference with international traffic;
“surveillance” means the systematic ongoing collection, collation and analysis of data for public health purposes and the timely disseminationof public health information for assessment and public health response as necessary;
“suspect” means those persons, baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods or postal parcels considered by a State Party as having been exposed, or possibly exposed, to a public health risk and that could be a possible source of spread of disease;
“temporary recommendation” means non-binding advice issued by WHO pursuant to Article 15 for application on a time-limited, risk-specific basis, in response to a public health emergency of international concern, so as to prevent or reduce the international spread of disease and minimize interference with international traffic;
“temporary residence” has the meaning as determined in the national law of the State Party concerned;
“traveller” means a natural person undertaking an international voyage;
“vector” means an insect or other animal which normally transports an infectious agent that constitutes a public health risk;
“verification” means the provision of information by a State Party to WHO confirming the status of an event within the territory or territories of that State Party;
“WHO IHR Contact Point” means the unit within WHO which shall be accessible at all times for communications with the National IHR Focal Point.