Week 7 – Young
Georgina Young
Primary Question:
The primary question was to discuss the authorities that Carol County Public Health and the Bobsville healthcare community retain to implement an isolation process. The first thing to note is the organizations that are the frontline for defense against infectious diseases and have put a great deal of work into these guidelines are the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) (Lewis, p. 44, 2004). However, it is important to note that states have sovereign authorities, and each state has created its own legal framework for infectious disease response (Lewis, p. 51, 2004). These two organizations are primarily the guidelines that I will analyze when understanding authorities.
The CDC states in its “Selected Federal Legal Authorities Pertinent to Public Health Emergencies” that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) will assist states and local authorities in the prevention and suppression of communicable diseases, including enforcing quarantine regulations (CDC, p. 4, 2017). The Secretary also has authorization to accept state and local authorities’ voluntary assistance with enforcement of federal quarantine regulations (CDC, p. 8, 2017). Furthermore, the U.S. Constitution states that the quarantine power of individual state governments is not prohibited by the states. This was reflected in Gibbons v. Ogden, which set the premise that while quarantine laws may affect commerce, they are, by nature, health laws under the guidance of the state government (Lewis, p. 51, 2004). Carol County Public Health and the Bobsville healthcare community have the authority to quarantine the victims of the sarin gas attack due to these provisions. The CDC and the WHO do not want the victims who were exposed but not showing symptoms to be wandering around the community and possibly exposing other people to the residual effects of the gas.
Additional Question:
I want to address an additional question about when Carol County can issue a quarantine order. Given that the quarantine regulations are written in the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the state has the authority to issue a quarantine order. The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA) was drafted to revise and standardize the outdated quarantine laws (Lewis, p. 51, 2004). The MSEHPA states that the quarantined person or person must receive a written order from a health official specifying the premises to be quarantined and the suspected communicable disease (Lewis, p. 51, 2004).
In the case of Carol County, the pursuant would be notified in person because health officials need to act immediately to prevent the sarin gas from spreading. The law states there needs to be an order within 24 hours, and if anyone chooses to petition, they have to file within five days, but the court cannot extend more than 30 days (Lewis, p. 51, 2004). Carol County did the right thing by providing food, shelter, and necessities while waiting for the Red Cross to arrive. The state should quarantine until the individuals have been medically cleared before they are allowed to be released. Sarin gas is highly volatile, which means it evaporates quickly. It can dissipate within minutes to hours, but Sarin gas can persist longer on surfaces, even for several days (CDC, 2024). The individuals should be quarantined until they are decontaminated.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Selected federal legal authorities pertinent to public … https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/docs/ph-emergencies.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024a, April 26). Sarin (GB): Nerve agent. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750001.html
Lewis, B. E. (2014). “An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Quarantine”: National and International Quarantine Laws vs Prevention and Control Measures as Applied to XDR-TB. Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law, 5(1), 43-63. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbbbl-2014-0004
