Quarantine is a type of confinement applied to a certain group of healthy people, but who may have been contaminated by the causative agent of some diseasein order to prevent it from spreading. This procedure has been adopted several times in history, but it is not clear when it was first practiced.
Despite the criticism, in cases of serious and highly transmissible diseases, the quarantine is still adopted. A recent example is the Chinese city of Wuhan, which was placed in quarantine to prevent SARS-CoV-2 (new coronavirus) from spreading and increasing cases of the disease COVID-19.
Read too:Coronavirus - definition, symptoms and prevention
How does quarantine work?
The Ministry of Health's Electronic Thesaurus defines quarantine as: isolation of healthy individuals or animals for the maximum period of incubation of the disease, that is, by the time between contact with the causative agent and the onset of disease symptoms.
Also according to the Ministry of Health, the quarantine time starts
from the date of the individual's last contact with a clinical case or carrier, or from the date that this healthy person left a place where the source of infection.How the patient will be maintained quarantined varies a lot, depending on the type of illness we are dealing with and also the place in the world where this person will be subjected to isolation.
In the case of SARS-CoV-2, for example, Brazil removed Brazilians who were in the Chinese city of Wuhan, focus of the disease, so that they could be quarantined in our country and, thus, run less risk. Here, the quarantine for these people was 15 days, and they stayed in suites equipped with TV, internet, telephone, minibar, fan and air conditioning. Also received six daily meals and had access to leisure activities, like watching movies, reading books and playing video games. Exams and psychological support have been made available.
Quarantine does not mean 40 days of confinement
Many people think that quarantine refers to 40 days of confinement, but that is not true. The quarantine time is determined according to the incubation period of the disease.
Imagine a disease that has an incubation period of 10 days, that is, the person begins to develop symptoms of this disease after 10 days of contact with the causative agent. The quarantine, in this case, must be at least 10 days after the person has had contact with another patient or a place where the disease is occurring.
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Difference between quarantine and isolation
When we talk about confinement of people in order to prevent a disease from spreading, two terms are important: quarantine and isolation. When a person is quarantined, he is separated from the population, but he has no symptoms, being just a precaution for having had contact with a patient or having been at the source of the infection. Only when a person is demonstrably ill is he subjected to isolation.
Read too: Differences between COVID-19, flu and cold
Quarantine Reviews
Many authors debate whether quarantine is really an adequate practice to prevent a major epidemic. One of the main points of discussion is the fact that this procedure determines a limitation on individual freedom (and puts him in situations that affect, for example, his psychological) and even triggers financial losses. Another highlighted point is that there is no scientific proof that quarantine is really effective in controlling disease.
recent quarantine cases
There are several accounts of quarantine described in history. When, in the 14th century, the Black Plague spread across Europe, for example, Venice prevented incoming ships from disembarking. Crew and passengers had to wait 40 days for this to be possible. The reports, however, are not just in the past, with quarantine being observed today. See two cases below:
Beijing has quarantined people to contain Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
THE SARS is triggered by a virus that scared the world in the years 2002 and 2003. During the epidemic, Beijing imposed a quarantine on 4,000 people who had been in close contact with others suspected of having the disease, ordering them to stay in their homes. Hospitals were also quarantined in the situation, preventing the entry and exit of visitors.
SARS was controlled in 2003, and no cases have been registered since 2004. In total, about 800 people died from the disease.
Read too:Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS
Wuhan, China has been subjected to quarantine to prevent the increase in cases of COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 is a type of virus responsible for developing respiratory infections that can have serious consequences, including the individual's death. The first cases of the disease, known as COVID-19, were registered in late 2019, and in January 2020, the causative agent was identified.
The first cases of the disease appeared in Wuhan, in China, and the city was quarantined as of 23 January. Among the measures taken were the suspension of public transport and flights to the region, thereby isolating the city completely. As of March 24, 2020, the new coronavirus, as SARS-CoV-2 became known, had already caused the death of 16,231 people and more than 372,757 cases had already been confirmed worldwide.
By Vanessa Sardinha dos Santos
Biology teacher