CLC Bioterrorism Essays

CLC Bioterrorism Essays CLC Bioterrorism Essay CLC Bioterrorism Essay CLC Bioterrorism Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: Date: CLC Bioterrorism Part 1: You will assess the value of quarantine and isolation in controlling disease due to biological terrorism. Use a specific example to support your position. Bioterrorism is defined as the intentional discharge of biological agents with the sole intention of causing harm such as disease or death on a target population. In the event of a bioterrorism threat materializing, state authorities as well as the health authority are responsible for directing and ensuring that affected and infected individuals to get relevant and adequate treatment. Quarantine is also necessary in instances of communicable diseases, which have been brought into the country with the aim of making the population ill (National Association of County and City Health Officials, 2006). Quarantine is described as the process of compulsory isolation of individuals in part of the population with the aim of curbing the spread of dangerous diseases or epidemics. This is actualized by physical separation of individuals who latter receive treatment and further tests for the presupposed conditions. During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic, authorities around the world ensured the presence of quarantines in their respective countries with the aim of curbing the spread of the deadly disease. People were subjected to strict quarantine measures with the aim of ensuring that they were in no position to be exposed to those who had not yet contracted the disease (Riley, 2003). Despite the criticism over the restrictive approaches used, this proved to be an advantage as it prevented the spread of a deadly disease that could have infected and eventually killed many people. In addition, isolation is also paramount if individuals exhibit signs of communicable disease, which is deadly to any population, they are quarantined as treated to ensure that the disease does not recur and eventually infect other individuals. Isolation is enforced by state and federal offices with an aim curbing spread of the disease and gaining adequate information about the disease and its traits. Information about biological agents could only be attained through adequate and constant studies of the disease under restrictive conditions such as isolation. Such enables the state and federal laws to develop countermeasures of suppressing the biological agents and the spread of the same. In addition, information about the disease or biological agents is also vital for the organization as i t helps in the development of medicine for neutralizing and reducing the effects of the disease. Part 2: You will list some major factors that emergency managers and public health planners must consider when including quarantine and isolation in public health emergency response plans. The spread of any biological agents is a cause of worry for the population. Hence, governments’ agencies are usually tasked with ensuring that individuals are safe from harm or threats from such agents. Quarantine and isolation is executed with the various considerations in mind. Among such considerations are the legal issues at hand in terms of the individual rights due to involuntary holding of an individual who is considered as a health risk to the country. In addition, health agencies medical practitioners and emergency health agencies should also put into consideration the need for declaration of the spread of the biological agents as an emergency to the state. Such requires adequate legal framework to follow the required processes to ensure that the announcement of an emergency is done so with surety that the biological agent infections amount to such (American Medical Association Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 2008). Furthermore, the means of ensuring adequate restriction should be of adequate consideration to the various legal and individual needs of the populace. Furthermore, restrictions should be in agreement with the infected individual through signatures for the eventual development of binging agreements with the infected of potentially infected individuals. The initial process to quarantine and isolation is usually defined in legal statues of health and emergency agencies. Such ensures that these agencies have a definition of what amounts to use of quarantine and isolation for the suppression of the biological agents. Moreover, considerations such as individual privacy in the event of hospital or institutional quarantine should also be considered to ensure that individuals are able to conduct their private affairs without any fear or invasion of privacy. References American Medical Association Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. (2008). Code of medical ethics of the American Medical Association: Current opinions with annotations. Chicago: AMA Press. National Association of County and City Health Officials. (January 2006). â€Å"Issues to Consider: Isolation and Quarantine.† Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, 18th Edition. Riley, S., Fraser, C., Donnelly, C. A., Ghani, A. C., Abu-Raddad, L. J., Hedley, A. J., Leung, G. M., . Anderson, R. M. (January 01, 2003). â€Å"Transmission dynamics of the etiological agent of SARS in Hong Kong: impact of public health interventions.† Science, 300, (5627).