Quarantine In Today's World

The idea of involuntary quarantine, does not come without it's share of controversy.  We have seen that first hand recently as our country has struggled to deal with the harsh reality that Viral Hemorrhagic Fever has reached our shores in the form of the Ebola virus.  The news media has worked us all into a frenzy.  And rightfully so, but at the same time they have done nothing to educate the public about anything that goes along with dealing with this type of issue within our borders.

Typhoid Mary Newspaper Headline from 1907

Probably one of the most famous cases in our nations history that relates to involuntary quarantines is that of Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant who worked as a cook for some of New York's wealthiest families.  Being a cook was a high ranking position for an immigrant woman back then and a position Mary wasn't willing to walk away from quietly. Mary was quarantined and held against her will because she was spreading a communicable disease. If you don't know the whole story of Mary you can read more at the link. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/611790/Typhoid-Mary

Fast forward to the most recent case of the use of an involuntary quarantine in New Jersey by Governor Chris Christie.  This quarantine was imposed upon Kaci Hickox, who according to a story from the Dallas News written by none other than Ms. Hickox herself, with assistance from Dr. Seema Yasmin, has degrees from both the University of Texas at Arlington and Johns Hopkins.  Ms. Hickox has also done work for the CDC as a disease detective along with Dr. Yasmin.  Did you hear that folks, a multi-degreed nurse with a history with the CDC squawking about being quarantined because she may be in a "qualifying stage" of a communicable disease.

Here is the part everyone seems to be missing about this, Governor Christie was well within his power as the Governor to enact and impose this quarantine on Ms. Hickox.  The federal government can impose quarantines to protect the general public from the spread of communicable diseases.  This link will take you to the CDC website where you can find additional information on both Federal and State Governments authority to impose quarantines to assist with stemming the spread of a communicable disease within our borders.  http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/aboutlawsregulationsquarantineisolation.html

The controversy with quarantines comes from the out cry that you are violating a persons civil rights by detaining them against their will.  Here is my question, whose civil rights is the person who may be in a qualifying stage violating if they walk into a restaurant and while they are dining suddenly become ill, placing 20 other people at a higher risk for contracting a disease than they had when they walked into the restaurant.  If, as a member of any volunteer organization you knowingly put yourself into areas that are rife with a disease like Viral Hemorrhagic Fever then you are assuming a risk that YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO ASSUME.  I have not left the shores of the US, therefore I DID NOT assume that same risk, therefor until it can be determined that you are not going to carry this disease to my family, then those returning volunteers need to stay in that bubble and be monitored daily.  The good of OUR MANY CITIZENS outweigh the minor inconvenience that may be experienced in a quarantine situation that you brought on by  placing your self in harms way in the first place.


Reference:
http://www.dallasnews.com/ebola/headlines/20141025-uta-grad-isolated-at-new-jersey-hospital-as-part-of-ebola-quarantine.ece