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In the absence of rapid and definitive diagnostic tests, vaccines, or cures, isolation and quarantine remain Public Health's best strategy against the spread of mass illness. Public Health – Seattle & King County (Public Health) is an Advanced Practice Center for Emergency Preparedness and established this Planning for Isolation & Quarantine Response Web Toolkit to support local Public Health jurisdictions in their efforts to plan for and manage a large-scale isolation and quarantine response. The Toolkit is designed for all types of users and is separated by topic for the ease of use and navigation.
Both isolation and quarantine are common and valuable Public Health tools routinely used by Public Health authorities to control the spread of communicable diseases. Historically used for the large-scale epidemics of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries but more recently as an individual strategy that is carried out in a quiet, small-scale manner, out of public view. Recent events and concern about the deliberate release of biological agents such as plague and anthrax or the spread of emerging diseases such as pandemic influenza and SARS has changed the context of Public Health preparedness. Proactively planning for and managing the implementation of a large-scale isolation and quarantine has once again become part of Public Health's fundamental responsibility.
Format: Web site
