Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1925-11-21
QUARANTINE NOT
ALWAYS REQUIRED
DR.. Riley Of State Health Depart
ment Gives Status Of Wage Earn
ers In Home Of Patients

let the fever or smallpox or one of the
other communicable diseases is being
cared for in a household, are the 9TH
er members of the family-with the
exception of course, of those engaged
in nursing the patient the
school children and the wage-earnine
grown-ups, permitted to come and go
as usual, to school or business?
Replying to this question, DR.. r. H
Riley, Chief of the Bureau of Commu-
nicable diseases of the State Depart
ment Of Health said "the State
regulations concerning the isolation OF
quarantine of persons suffering from
communicable disease, and the free
dom allowed the mmbers of the house
hold, have been enacted purely for the
purpose of preventing the spread of
disease. The regulations differ in re-
gard to different diseases, if case of
smallpox is being cared for, the reg
ulations of the State Board of Health
require what we call complete isola-
ton not only of the patient, but of all
members of the household. The prem
ises are placarded and no person excep+
the Health officer, the physician or
the Public Health nurse in attendance
upon the patient may leave the house
until the quarantine is lifted.
eff the disease is diphtheria, scarlet
fever, infantile paralysis or cerebro-
spinal meningitis, the apartment in
which the patient is cared for, is quar-
antined. The patient and those caring
for him, are not permitted to mingle
with the other members of the house
hold, but the house is not necessarily
placarded, and permission to go back
and forth from house to business,
may be given to those not in contact
with the patient, at the discretion of
the Health officer. But this does not
apply to school children. When scar
let fever or diphtheria is present, the
other children must remain at home
until the sick one is we'll, except when
such children have been removed by
permission of the attending physicitn
and the Health officer to another
house.
"For some of the other infectious
diseases, among them measles,
mumps, German measles, whooping
cough and chicken-pox, the regula-
items require isolation of the patient
without placarding the house, and
without restricting the movements of
the wage-earning members of the
household. But here again, the Health
officer may use hi sown discretion and
if the outbreak is sufficiently severe
to necessitate it, he may have placards
placed where they will be seen by
possible visitors. Children living in
the same house, who are not sick, may
return to school before the infected
child RECEIVERS, provided the attending
physician or Health officer gives a
certificate that to his knowledge they
have had the disease.
"The regulations requiring quaran-
tine of persons from a communicable
disease apply to 'carriers'-that is to
persons who are themselves we'll but
who carry the germs of the disease
and are therefore capable of spread
ing it to others, and also to contacts,
that is to persons who have been ex-
posed to infection through having
come in contact in some way-home,
school, business or other public
place-with the person suffering from
! the communicable disease. In the
case Of small pox, typhoid and diph-
iberia very important part of the
duties of every Health officer is to
prevent the spread of these diseases a
mong the contacts, first by vaccinating
against small pox; by giving them
protective or immunizing doses of ty-
phoid vaccine or diphtheria antitoxin
and second by keeping them under
observation until the danger of
spreading the diseases to others is
over.
"Due authority is given to the Health
officers through the regulations of the
State Board of Health to establish and
maintain quarantine. Here is the spe-
cific rule on that subject:
"When Health officer finds it i'm
possible to maintain proper control of
any individual case of communicable
disease, he may quarantine and en-
ploy guards if necessary, placard, or
resort to such other measures as are
proper for the protection of public
health.
GAS to the period of isolation-the
word most commonly used in this con-