Chap. 268.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Section 4 of Chapter 364 of the Acts
of Assembly of 1920, approved March 20, 1920, relating to the control and
prevention of venereal disease; and to further amend the chapter by adding
a new section numbered 4-a, relating to the same subject. [S 219]

‘Approved March 17, 1944

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That section four of chapter three hundred sixty-four of the
Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred twenty, approved March twenty,
nineteen hundred twenty, be amended and re-enacted, and that chapter
three hundred sixty-four be further amended by adding a new section
numbered four-a, as follows :

Section 4. (a) <All State, city, county and other health officers
shall use every available means to ascertain the existence of, and to in-
vestigate all cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, lymphogranuloma inquinale,
granuloma inguinale, or chancroid, within their several territorial juris-
dictions, and to ascertain the sources of such infections. All health of-
ficers are hereby empowered and directed to make such exaniinations of
persons reasonably suspected of having syphilis, gonorrhea, lympho-
granuloma inguinale, granuloma inguinale, or chancroid as may be nec-
essary for the carrying out of this act. To this end such officers may
require persons so suspected of being infected with any of the foregoing
diseases to submit to an examination for the purpose of ascertaining the
presence or absence of the disease.

(b) Owing to the prevalence of such diseases amongst vagrants.
prostitutes, keepers, inmates, employees, and frequenters of houses oi
ill-fame, prostitution, and assignation, persons ‘not of good fame”, per-
sons guilty of fornication, adultery, lewd and lascivious conduct, and
Hlicit cohabitation are to be considered and are hereby declared to be
reasonably suspected of having syphilis, gonorrhea, lymphogranuloma
inguinale, granuloma inguinale, or chancroid, and no person convicted of
any such charges shall be released until examined for such venereal dis-
eases by the proper health officer, his deputy or assistants, or agents.

Section 4-a. Any person found to be infected with any of the diseases
mentioned in this act, who fails or refuses to take the treatment pre-
scribed by a competent doctor, or if he has begun the course of treatment
refuses to continue same until found to be cured by proper test, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and punished as provided in this act.