Linda Upton, age 13, of Hutchinson, Kan., for her question:
WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE PUT IN QUARANTINE?
Quarantine means to isolate or shut off from others. Sometimes people, animals or places are quarantined because of the possibility that they are diseased.
The word itself comes from the Latin quadraginta, meaning 40. In early times, officials kept a ship outside port for 40 days if they suspected that it carried infection among its passengers or freight.
Nowadays, ships coming to the United States from foreign areas are still subject to quarantine by the Public Health Service. The ship's captain must give the port inspection officer a statement certifying the health status of crew and passengers.
If a ship is free of infectious disease, it is allowed to dock. If not, it must stay in the harbor flying a yellow flag until a period of quarantine is lifted. Heavy penalties are exacted on those who make false statements or conceal facts about disease.
The U.S. maintains a quarantine over Asiatic cholera, yellow fever, typhus fever, leprosy, parrot fever, plague and anthrax.
States, cities, single households and individuals are also subject to certain quarantine laws. Often officials post notices on houses where infectious diseases are known to be present.
Sometimes doctors and nurses must remain isolated together with patients suffering from infectious diseases, or they must take special disinfection measures to prevent carrying germs to other patients.
Quarantines have proved effective though the years in reducing death rates and limiting epidemics.
Today many states use quarantines to keep out diseased plants and animals or insect pests. Local areas may also be quarantined occasionally to prevent the spread of such animal illnesses as foot and mouth disease, which affects livestock.
Air travelers are handled differently under U.S. quarantine laws. Passengers arriving by air from foreign countries are allowed to go to their destinations. But if a health problem is suspected, officials quite often keep the passengers under observation until it is certain that they do not have any infectious diseases.
Some air travelers must also provide health certification.