Section 18 of Public Health Act CAP 242: Notification of infectious diseases
(1) Where an inmate of any building used for human habitation is suffering from any notifiable infectious disease, unless such building is a hospital in which persons suffering from any notifiable infectious disease are received, the following provisions shall have effect—
(a) the head of the family to which such inmate (in this Act referred to as the patient) belongs, and in his default the nearest relatives of the patient present in the building or in their default the person in charge of or in attendance on the patient, and in default of any such person the occupier of the building, shall, as soon as he becomes aware that the patient is suffering from any notifiable infectious disease to which this Act applies, send notice thereof to the nearest medical officer of health;
(b) every medical practitioner attending on or called in to visit the patient shall forthwith on becoming aware that the patient is suffering from any notifiable infectious disease to which this Act applies send the nearest medical officer of health a certificate stating the name of the patient, the situation of the building and the notifiable infectious disease from which, in the opinion of such medical practitioner, the patient is suffering; and shall also inform the head of the household or the occupier of the premises or any person in attendance on such patient of the infectious nature of the disease and the precautions to be taken to prevent its conveyance to others;
(c) in any case in which a medical practitioner has been called in, the obligation to notify an infectious disease shall rest on such medical practitioner only;
(d) every medical practitioner who becomes aware, by post-mortem examination or otherwise, that any person has died of a notifiable infectious disease shall immediately furnish a written certificate thereof to the nearest medical officer of health, and shall also inform the head of the household or the occupier of the premises or any
person who has been in attendance on such diseased person of the infectious nature of the disease and the precautions to be taken to prevent its conveyance to others.
(2) Every person required by this section to give a notice or certificate and who fails to give the same shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding eighty shillings:
Provided that if a person is not required to give notice in the first instance, but only in default of some other person, he shall not be guilty of an offence if he satisfies the court that he had reasonable cause to suppose that the notice had been duly given.
Enhance Your Research with Bookmarks and Annotations
Here's how you can use these features:
- To bookmark this page, click the "Bookmark this Page" button below the document title.
- To add an annotation, highlight text in the document and select "Add Annotation" from the toolbar that appears.
- These features are great for organizing your research and keeping track of key information.
- You can view and manage your bookmarks and annotations on your Bookmarks and Annotations page.
- Section 19 - Fees for certificates
The health authority shall pay to every medical practitioner, other than a Government medical officer, for each certificate duly sent by him in accordance with this Act a fee of four shillings if the...
- Section 20 - Manner of sending notices and certificates
A notice or certificate to be sent to a medical officer of health in pursuance of this Act may be sent by being delivered to the officer or being left at his office or residence, or may be sent by...
- Section 21 - Inspection of infected premises and examination of persons suspected to be suffering from infectious disease
A medical officer of health may at any time enter and inspect any premises in which he has reason to believe that any person suffering or who has recently suffered from any infectious disease is or...
- Section 22 - Health authority to cause premises to be cleansed and disinfected
(1) Where any medical officer of health is of opinion that the cleansing and disinfecting of any building or part thereof, and of any articles therein likely to retain infection, would tend to prevent...
- Section 23 - Destruction of infected bedding, etc.
Any health authority may direct the destruction of any building, bedding, clothing or other articles which have been exposed to infection from any infectious disease, or in the opinion of the medical...
- Section 24 - Provision of means of disinfection
Any health authority may provide a proper place, with all necessary apparatus and attendance, for the disinfection of bedding, clothing or other articles which have become infected, and may cause any...
- Section 25 - Provision of conveyance for infected persons
Any health authority may provide and maintain a carriage or carriages suitable for the conveyance of persons suffering from any infectious disease, and may pay the expenses of conveying therein any...
- Section 26 - Removal to hospital of infected persons
Where, in the opinion of the medical officer of health, any person certified by a medical practitioner to be suffering from an infectious disease is not accommodated or is not being treated or nursed...
- Section 27 - Isolation of persons who have been exposed to infection
Where, in the opinion of the medical officer of health, any person has recently been exposed to the infection, and may be in the incubation stage, of any notifiable infectious disease and is not...
- Section 28 - Penalty for exposure of infected persons and things
Any person who—
(a) while suffering from any infectious disease, wilfully exposes himself without proper precautions against spreading the said disease in any street, public place, shop, inn or...
- Section 29 - Penalty for failing to provide for disinfection of public conveyance
Every owner or driver of a conveyance shall immediately provide for the disinfection of such conveyance after it has to his knowledge conveyed any person suffering from an infectious disease; and if...
- Section 30 - Penalty for letting infected house
(1) Any person who knowingly lets for hire any dwelling or premises or part thereof in which any person has been suffering from an infectious disease without having the same and all articles therein...
- Section 31 - Duty of person letting house lately infected to give true information
Any person letting for hire or showing for the purpose of letting for hire any dwelling or premises or part thereof who, on being questioned by any person negotiating for the hire of such house as to...
- Section 32 - Power of municipal council to provide hospital
(1) Any municipal council with the sanction of the board may provide for the use of the inhabitants of its area hospitals or temporary places for the reception of the sick, and for that purpose may—...
- Section 33 - Recovery of cost of maintaining patient in hospital
Any expenses incurred by a municipal council in maintaining in a hospital, or in a temporary place for the reception of the sick (whether or not belonging to such hospital), a patient who is not a...
- Section 34 - Power to provide temporary supply of medicine
Any municipal council may, with the sanction of the board, themselves provide or contract with any person to provide a temporary supply of medicine and medical assistance for the poorer inhabitants of...
- Section 35 - Formidable epidemic, endemic or infectious diseases
The provisions of this Act, unless otherwise expressed, in so far as they concern formidable epidemic, endemic or infectious disease, shall be deemed to apply to smallpox, plague, Asiatic cholera,...
- Section 36 - Rules for prevention of disease
Whenever any part of Kenya appears to be threatened by any formidable epidemic, endemic or infectious disease, the Minister may make rules for all or any of the following purposes, namely—
(a) the...
- Section 37 - Health authority to see to execution of rules
The health authority of any area within which or part of which any rules made under section 36 of this Act are in force shall do and provide all such acts, matters and things as may be necessary for...
- Section 38 - Power of entry
The Director of Medical Services and his officers shall have power of entry on any premises or vessels for the purpose of executing or superintending the execution of any rules made under section 36...
- Section 40 - Notification of sickness or mortality in animals suspected of plague
(1) Every person who becomes aware of any unusual sickness or mortality among rats, mice, cats, dogs or other animals susceptible to plague or other formidable epidemic diseases not due to poison or...
- Section 41 - Medical officers of health to report notification of formidable epidemic diseases by telegraph
Every medical officer of health shall immediately report to the Director of Medical Services by telegraph or other expeditious means particulars of every notification received by such medical officer...
- Section 42 - Director of Medical Services may requisition buildings, equipment, etc.
(1) Where an outbreak of any formidable epidemic disease exists or is threatened, it shall be lawful for the Director of Medical Services to require any person owning or having charge of any land or...
- Section 43 - Venereal diseases
The provisions of this Act, unless otherwise expressed, in so far as they concern venereal diseases, shall be deemed to apply to syphilis, gonorrhoea, gonorrhoeal ophthalmia, soft chancre, venereal...
- Section 44 - Persons suffering from venereal disease to have themselves treated until cured
(1) Every person who knows or has reason to believe that he is suffering from any venereal disease shall forthwith consult a medical practitioner with respect thereto, and shall place himself under...
- Section 45 - Duties of medical practitioners
Every medical practitioner who attends or advises any patient in respect of any venereal disease from which the patient is suffering shall—
(a) direct the attention of the patient to the infectious...
- Section 46 - Duties of parents or guardians of infected children
(1) Every parent or guardian of a child who knows or has reason to believe that such child is suffering from any venereal disease shall cause such child to be treated for such disease by a medical...
- Section 47 - Infection by employees
(1) Every person who, while suffering from any venereal disease in a communicable form, accepts or continues in employment in or about any factory, shop, hotel, restaurant, house or other place in any...
- Section 48 - Duties of medical officers of health and district surgeons to report, and powers of magistrates
(1) It shall be the duty of every medical officer of health in his official capacity and of every Government medical officer and district surgeon who knows or has reason to believe that any person is...
- Section 49 - Conveyance of infection an offence
Every person who wilfully or by culpable negligence infects any other person with venereal disease or does or permits or suffers any act likely to lead to the infection of any other person with any...
- Section 50 - Detention in hospital of infected person
(1) Where any person sentenced to imprisonment under this Act or any other law is suffering from a venereal disease in a communicable form, he may, by order of the magistrate, be removed to a special...
- Section 51 - Medical examination of inhabitants of localities where venereal disease believed prevalent
(1) Where the Minister on a report by a medical officer has reason to believe that a person is suffering from venereal disease, he may issue an order requiring the examination by a medical...
- Section 52 - Examination of females
Where any order is made under this Part requiring the medical examination of any female and such female desires to be examined by a woman medical practitioner, such examination shall be made by a...
- Section 53 - Rights of persons detained in hospital
(1) Any person detained in hospital under this Part shall be entitled to arrange, at his own expense, for his examination by any medical practitioner, and a report of such examination shall be...
- Section 54 - Secrecy of proceedings
(1) Inquiries and proceedings before a magistrate or any court of law under this Part shall be secret and conducted in camera, and the records thereof shall be kept in the manner and form prescribed...
- Section 55 - Publication of advertisements of cures
(1) No person shall publish any advertisement or statement intended to promote the sale of any medicine, appliance or article for the alleviation or cure of any venereal disease or disease affecting...
- Section 56 - Interpretation of Part
For the purposes of this Part—
“master” in relation to any vessel means the person (other than a pilot) having at the time command or charge of that vessel;
“oversea vessel” means a vessel other...
- Section 57 - Application of Act as regards vessels
The provisions of this Act as regards vessels, except where otherwise expressly stated, shall apply to every vessel of whatsoever kind anchoring off or arriving in any port or being elsewhere within...
- Section 58 - No communication between vessels and shore before granting of pratique
(1) Except in case of danger, no master of a vessel arriving at any port or place in Kenya and no person on board thereof shall communicate or attempt to communicate with the shore or with any other...
- Section 59 - Notification of infectious disease or death on board of vessel
(1) The provisions of this Act in respect of the notification of the occurrence of cases of infectious disease in man, or of sickness or mortality in rodents or other animals susceptible to plague,...
- Section 60 - Powers of port health officer
(1) The port health officer may at any time board any vessel and inspect any part thereof or anything therein, and may medically examine any person on board and require any such person to answer any...
- Section 61 - Notification to medical officers of health at ports
Upon the occurrence on any vessel of any case of or death from any notifiable infectious disease, or of such other disease as the Minister may prescribe, or of any sickness or mortality among rodents...
- Section 62 - Granting of restricted or conditional pratique to and quarantining of vessels
In the case of any vessel having, or suspected on reasonable grounds of having, on board in any person, animal or thing the infection of any infectious disease, the port health officer, acting in...
- Section 63 - Declaration of infected places, ports of entry, etc.
(1) The Minister may, by order—
(a) declare that any place beyond or within Kenya is infected with a formidable epidemic disease or that a formidable epidemic disease is liable to be brought or...
- Section 64 - Master of vessel from proclaimed place to take precautionary measures
(1) The master of any vessel bound for any port or place in Kenya which comes from or calls or touches at any proclaimed place shall, while his vessel is at that place and during the voyage to Kenya,...
- Section 65 - Removal of quarantined vessels
Where a vessel has been placed in quarantine at any port or place in Kenya, the Minister may, for the purpose of more effectually dealing with the infection on board, require the master thereof to...
- Section 66 - Master of vessel may decline to submit to quarantine or removal
(1) Where the master of a vessel has been informed by the port health officer or other duly authorized officer of the intention of placing that vessel in quarantine or of requiring him to move that...
- Section 67 - Removal of patient from vessel and treatment on shore
(1) Where any person on board of any vessel is suffering from any infectious or other disease and, in the opinion of the port health officer, is not accommodated or is not being nursed or treated in...
- Section 68 - Surveillance or isolation of persons who have been exposed to infection
(1) Where any person on board of any vessel is believed to have been recently exposed to the infection, and may be in the incubation stage of any notifiable infectious disease, the port health officer...
- Section 69 - Burial of the bodies of persons dying on board of vessel
Where there is any dead body on board any vessel at any port or place in Kenya, it shall be the duty of the master of such vessel to cause such body to be properly buried; any reasonable and necessary...