Abstract
In their article, HHS/CDC Legal Response to Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome [SARS], Misrahi, et al. (1) describe the updated federal laws and response plans for handling SARS and related communicable diseases. Federal authority is important to control the interstate and international movement of persons who are potentially infectious, but most isolation and quarantine orders will be performed by state and local officials, using state and local law. We discuss how existing laws might be modified to facilitate effective SARS control while providing legal protections to restricted persons.
Highlights
In their article, HHS/CDC Legal Response to Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Misrahi, et al (1) describe the updated federal laws and response plans for handling SARS and related communicable diseases
Traditional Powers The drafters of the U.S Constitution gave states broad powers to control communicable diseases because the colonies were ridden with malaria, yellow fever (2), cholera, and typhoid
Public health orders get the most permissive judicial review, the rational relationship test, because they are based on objective criteria, are usually of limited duration, and are necessary to prevent imminent harm (9)
Summary
HHS/CDC Legal Response to Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Misrahi, et al (1) describe the updated federal laws and response plans for handling SARS and related communicable diseases. This public health authority has been upheld by the U.S Supreme Court in all cases (4), except when it is was clearly a subterfuge for racial discrimination (5), and in 1950, every state and local health department had clear powers to conduct case-finding and isolate or quarantine persons who represented a potential public health risk (6). State public health laws do not need to be detailed and specific, but they can give public health agencies the general authority to protect the public’s health and safety. Consistent with the Constitution, courts allow government agencies to fill in the details of these laws (7).
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