Quarantine

• “The limitation of freedom of movement of such well persons or domestic animals exposed to the communicable disease for a period of time not longer the longest incubation period of the disease in such manner as to prevent effective contact with those not exposed“.
• In simple words “Quarantine separates people who have been exposed to a specific illness (but are not yet sick and don’t have symptoms)” from those not exposed”. 
• A person or a well-defined group of people have been exposed to a highly dangerous and highly contagious disease.
•  Quarantine was first applied for plague

 DURATION:

• The individual and often the entire family will stay at home until the risk of developing the disease or its symptoms is over that means maximum incubation period, because following exposure symptoms develop after incubation period.
• So, if after maximum incubation period for a specific disease, exposed person does not develop disease that means that person has not acquired infection and the person should be allowed to move.
• Quarantine period for yellow fever: 6 days (maximum IP)
• Quarantine period of cholera : 5 days
• A quarantined person who develops symptoms associated with the disease in question should immediately contact his/her personal physician and local public health department. 
• Once ill, the individual will be considered to be in isolation instead of quarantine.

• By definition, both isolation and quarantine restrict the movement of individuals.
• But, quarantine and isolation are not synonymous.
• Quarantine is done on individual who is not sick but has been exposed, while isolation is done on ill or infected individual
• Period of quarantine is max incubation period, while period of isoalation is equal to period of communicability.
• If a quarantined individual becomes sick, isolation is considered.

MEASURES:

There are many different control strategies that can be used. This includes:

• Short-term, voluntary home confinement.
• Restrictions on travel for those who may have been exposed
•  Restrictions on passage into and out of an area. Other measures to control the spread of disease may include
• Restrictions on the assembly of groups of people (for example, school events)
•  Cancellation of public events,
• Suspension of public gatherings and closings of public places (such as theatres)
• Closure of mass transit systems or broader restrictions on travel by air, rail or water

TYPES:

1.  Absolute quarantine —>
   •  Restriction of movement for maximum incubation period. 
2. Modified quarantine —>
   •  A selective partial limitation of freedom of movement, such as the exclusion of children from school.
3. Segregation —>
   •  The separation for special consideration, control of observation of some part of a group of persons from the other to facilitate control of a communicable disease, e.g., removal of susceptible children to homes of immune persons.