Quarantine

From ArticleWorld

Quarantine often refers to an enforced isolation in order to prevent a highly contagious disease to spread. It got its name from the Italian quaranta giorni (forty days), since the traditional quarantine period for the shipmen arriving from far lands was of 40 days. Quarantine is so common that the term itself has been spread among various other scientific discipline, including computer science.

History

The first recorded quarantine measure was in 1377, during the Black Death. The authorities in Dubrovnik required all ships and people to be isolated for 40 days, in order to prevent plague from spreading. Later, the quarantine was used for leper, syphilis, yellow fever and cholera. In time, each country regulated its own measures for quarantine, including England (in the 18th century), France, Russia etc.

Several conferences were held in the 19th century in order to adopt a common quarantine practice. Some countries did apply the British views over quarantine, less strict than the old system of completely isolating ships. However, others, like Spain and Russia, kept the traditional system.

Subsequent conferences introduced different quarantine practices taking various local differences into account. The progresses in medicine and communication caused some major decisions, including the principle of disease notification, which was adopted in 1897.

Current practices

Currently, quarantine is no longer a subject of medical debate, but a common medical practice. It is applied not just to humans, but also to animals. The quarantine period depends on the suspected danger. For example, anthrax requires only short periods of quarantine, since it basically involves only a decontamination shower. Other suspected afflictions require longer periods of quarantine.

The only ongoing debate about quarantine is about how it should affect civil rights, especially when the quarantine is for a longer period, or it involves long periods of segregation from society. The canonical example is that of Mary Mallon, who was under quarantine for several years because she was a typhoid carrier, but did not suffer from typhoid fever and was never cured.