Abstract
The concept of ‘quarantine’ is embedded in health practices, attracting heightened
interest during episodes of epidemics. The term is strictly related to plague and
dates back to 1377, when the Rector of the seaport of Ragusa (then belonging to the
Venetian Republic) officially issued a 30-day isolation period for ships, that became
40 days for land travellers.
During the next 100 years similar laws were introduced in Italian and in French ports,
and they gradually acquired other connotations with respect to their original implementation.
Measures analogous to those employed against the plague have been adopted to fight
against the disease termed the Great White Plague, i.e. tuberculosis, and in recent
times various countries have set up official entities for the identification and control
of infections.
Even more recently (2003) the proposal of the constitution of a new European monitoring,
regulatory and research institution has been made, since the already available system
of surveillance has found an enormous challenge in the global emergency of the severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In the absence of a targeted vaccine, general preventive
interventions have to be relied upon, including high healthcare surveillance and public
information. Quarantine has, therefore, had a rebound of celebrity and updated evidence
strongly suggests that its basic concept is still fully valid.
Keywords
References
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
March 4,
2004
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 The British Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
