A case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was diagnosed immediately on signs of illness at a tourist site in China. Which of the following actions should be taken to protect the badly needed income from tourist dollars?

Question

a. Close the airports and refuse to let the tourists in the area leave
b. Begin to immunize everyone in the immediate area with protective vaccine as soon as possible
c. Quarantine the ill person and use isolation techniques when providing care
d. Screen everyone in the area by requiring a blood and urine sample

Answer 1

ANS: C
Quarantine is an enforced isolation or restriction of movement of those who have been exposed to an infectious agent during the incubation period; this is another method of controlling the reservoir. Quarantine was used effectively during the outbreak of SARS in 2003, when some hospitals required that their staff exposed to SARS patients remain at the hospital until proved to be symptom free at the end of the incubation period. Immunization and screening would not protect the population from exposure to this infectious disease. It is likely that others besides tourists could be exposed or infected by this disease, thus, closing airports would be ineffective in controlling the spread of the disease.