Essay On Quarantine And Isolation

While I believe the state has a duty to protect its citizens, this cannot be done at the expense of violating the civil liberties of some. As such, where the use of isolation in the event of a novel human influenza outbreak may be helpful in preventing the spread of disease, I disagree with the use of quarantine seeing as it as a violation of the civil rights of those quarantined. Depending on the mode of transmission, isolation may be helpful in the spread of contagious disease, but quarantine may be isolating people who will never get ill and is very expensive. Decisions about quarantine and isolation are predicated on the knowledge of the modes of transmission and how contagious the influenza virus is.

In the United States, “State and local governments are primarily responsible for maintaining public health and controlling the spread of diseases within state borders” (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014). The federal government has authority as well, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to monitor and respond to the spread of communicable diseases across national or state borders, or if the state government is unwilling or unable to effectively respond (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014).
To start, let’s explore the terms quarantine and isolation?
They both restrict and individual’s freedom of movement, and they have both been shown to be effective with voluntary programs (4). While mandating voluntary quarantine of people exposed to the disease but not ill seems to be excessive and violates individual rights, protecting citizens and health care workers with isolation is considering the greater good. Options for voluntary home quarantine and home isolation should be considered for the well-being of the afflicted individual as long as it does not increase the risk of disease for