Institute of Medicine news: Quarantine stations at port...( WASHINGTON -- The system for intercepti...)

WASHINGTON -- The system for intercepting microbial threats at the nation's airports, seaports, and borders needs strategic leadership and a comprehensive plan to meet the challenges posed by emerging diseases and bioterrorist threats, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention particularly its Division of Global Migration and Quarantine and the individual quarantine stations at U.S. ports of entry should be given the responsibility, authority, and resources to lead the effort to protect the public from microbial threats that originate abroad, said the committee that wrote the report. CDC also should work with national, state, and local partners to develop a more comprehensive strategic approach that clearly delineates each partner's roles and responsibilities.

"CDC quarantine stations and the broader quarantine system serve as the nation's insurance policy against catastrophes that might arise from the importation of naturally occurring infectious agents, such as the SARS virus, or man-made threats like an attack using a dangerous biological agent," said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C., and chair of the committee that wrote the report. "But no single entity currently has the responsibility, authority, and resources to orchestrate all the activities of the quarantine system, and the traditional responsibilities of quarantine personnel are no longer sufficient to meet the challenges posed by the rapidly increasing pace of global trade and travel and the emergence of new microbial threats. Consequently, we recommend the establishment of clear leadership and lines of communication among all parties involved in protecting the public from infectious agents that originate abroad."

Every year, roughly 120 million people travel into or out of the country through the nation's 474 airports, seaports, and
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Contact: Christine Stencel
News@nas.edu
202-334-2138
The National Academies
1-Sep-2005

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