High Alert Institute

 

 

Isolation, Quarantine and Reality

by | Jun 7, 2007

Today’s Senate and House hearings regarding the recent events surrounding the globe-trotting travels of Andrew Speaker, the now world-famous patient with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis highlights the fact that quarantine does not work.  The problem is that the national pandemic flu response plan is based on a form of quarantine known as social isolation and social distancing.

 

In the words of Brian Flynn, former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, 

“In the entire history of the world, quarantine has never worked.”

 

Andrew Speaker’s travels and the attempts of the Center for Disease Control and the Custom and Immigration Service of the United States to quarantine Mr. Speaker demonstrates the comedy of errors seen when quarantine is attempted.  During the SARS epidemic of 2004, quarantine was attempted in Hong Kong and resulted in a mass migration of potentially exposed individuals out of Hong Kong. Despite a quarantine, SARS ultimately spread to Toronto.

 

Andrew Speaker traveled from the United States despite the fact that he was already aware that he suffered from tuberculosis and was not to travel anywhere.  Despite the attempts to restrict his movement, he traveled to Greece where he was married.  From Greece, he traveled to Italy where the CDC finally made contact with him informing him not to travel by commercial aircraft.  There is significant debate as to whether the CDC declined to transport him on a CDC aircraft for lack of the ability to isolate or lack of funding for the transport of a civilian.  

 

The CDC website is replete with photographs of Level A individual patient isolation units used for the transportation of patients with Ebola virus, making the CDC’s claim that there is no ability to fully isolate a patient aboard one of their aircraft highly unlikely.  On the other hand, there was no federal tasking number, no declared national disaster, and no federal mandate or even jurisdiction in Italy upon which to base this use of a federally funded aircraft for the transportation of a civilian, even though a U.S. citizen, who had already ignored travel restrictions.  Since Mr. Speaker had chosen to transport himself to Europe, he would be responsible for the cost of returning to the United States.  

 

Upon hearing the over $100,000.00 bill for the safe repatriation of himself and his wife to the United States without risk to an aircrew or other citizens, Mr. Speaker chose to elude quarantine attempts in Italy before they could even be instituted and to travel to Prague, Chezkslovakia.  From Prague, he boarded a commercial aircraft exposing potentially hundreds of individuals as he flew to Canada where he then rented a vehicle and drove to New York.  The Customs and Immigration Service then failed yet again to quarantine Mr. Speaker as he crossed the border despite the fact that his passport now was electronically flagged for detention and quarantine.  

 

This saga of events will invariably be blamed upon individual organizations rather than on the fact that quarantine simply does not work.  Politicians and public health officials refuse to give up a system of public health mythology that dates back to the second black plague.  The word quarantine is drawn from the Venetian word for forty because, in the middle ages, ships were forced to sit at anchor in the bay outside of the dock in Venice for forty days prior to being allowed to disembark their passengers, crew, or cargo.  

 

Despite over five centuries of failure, half of a millennium, quarantine is still the first word uttered by public health officials and our elected representatives when facing epidemic, pandemic, or even isolated outbreaks of highly contagious or severe illness.

 

Andrew Speaker is now in medical isolation, a procedure utilized when a patient with a known disease is separated from individuals without that disease.  Mr. Speaker’s life will be saved and those around him protected not by a quarantine but by an everyday medical procedure, isolation.

 

Unfortunately, when the next pandemic strikes in the coming years, the current plan is for a modernized version of quarantine which will be no more effective than we have seen in the past week, the past year, the past century, or the past millennium.

 

Griffin Works offers Pawsitive Interactions with Service Dogs During Response Operations©, an audience-customized training that breaks down barriers by offering hands-on handling training and demonstrations with working service dogs for fire departments, EMS agencies, and public safety organizations.

Part of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium and home to the National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center, TEEX has been leading homeland security training since 1998. The major TEEX programs include fire and rescue, infrastructure and safety, law enforcement, economic and workforce development, and homeland security. As a member of The Texas A&M University System, TEEX is unique in its ability to access a broad range of emerging research and technical expertise. Beginning with course design and development all the way through hands-on instruction and national certification testing, TEEX delivers comprehensive training through both classroom and hands-on instruction and as online courses.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) was created by Congress in 2000 as part of the Children’s Health Act to raise the standard of care and increase access to services for children and families who experience or witness traumatic events. This unique network of child-serving professionals, caregivers and young adults, researchers, and national partners is committed to changing the course of children’s lives by improving their care and moving scientific gains quickly into practice across the U.S. The NCTSN is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and coordinated by the UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCCTS). 

The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The EMI provides national leadership in developing and delivering training to ensure that individuals and groups having key emergency management responsibilities possess the requisite skills to effectively perform their jobs.

The High Alert Institute maintains a list of reviewed courses provided by governments, universities and professional organizations. This list is geared towards the non-emergency management person who participates in disaster planning, preparedness, response, recovery or mitigation as part of their job responsibilities.

The High Alert Institute has partnered with Shutterstock to distribute stock images from the nature images donated by our supporters. For eligible stock images, Shutterstock will donate a portion of the royalty to the High Alert Institute. There is no cost to charitable organizations or to Shutterstock customers.

For eligible purchases through AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the High Alert Institute. There is no cost to charitable organizations or to AmazonSmile customers. All you need to do is push the SMILE NOW button and select to support THE HIGH ALERT INSTITUTE on AmazonSmile.

Koi need forever homes, too! For pond enthusiasts, freshwater exotic and ornamental fish may not be available through pet stores or rescues in their area. The High Alert Institute Aquatic Pet Shelter Rehoming Program will be happy to assist you in stocking your new pond or adding a new finned friend to your school. Coming soon – when you adopt a Koi from the High Alert Institute Aquatic Pet Shelter Rehoming Program, we can arrange for delivery to your door anywhere in the continental United States.

Have you always wanted a Koi pond but don’t have the space one? Sponsor a Koi in our community shelter pond and we send you photos of your sponsored animal. Coming soon are live Koi Cameras above and below the water to enjoy your sponsored Koi anytime.

Dumping of freshwater non-native species and exotic aquatic pets into wild habitats is a man-made disaster that is truly preventable. The Institute’s Aquatic Pet Welfare Partnership works to raise awareness and reduce the impact on healthy ecosystems through education, as well as rescue and rehoming. Joined by champions of animal welfare and environmental stewardship, this  association of aquatic pet rescue operations and aquatic pet shelters across the United States aims to save our finned friends and preserve our waterways together.

Want to share our cause with family, friends, and colleagues? Looking for a non-traditional way to celebrate a birthday or honor someone special? Support the Institute by starting your own Peer-to-Peer fundraising challenge! Let your contacts know why our mission is important to you and what they can do to support your cause. START YOUR OWN FUNDRAISER for the High Alert Institute.

From the staffing pool to the shelter ponds, from the boardroom to the classroom, and from reading the science to writing the analyses, High Alert Institute programs and services benefit from the experience, expertise, and generosity of our volunteers. Put your talents to use for good and to good use – VOLUNTEER TODAY.

Make your donation twice as nice by rehoming aquatic pets and providing a rehabilitation companion pet to a deserving person, family, or facility. Sponsor part or all of a Joy of Koi Program pond installation – complete with rehomed koi – and give the gifts of love and recovery.

Professional photographers, amateurs, and legal copywrite holders are all welcome to participate in the High Alert Institute Nature Photo Donation Program. Sales of the images benefit the Institute and donors are eligible for tax deductions equivalent to the fair market value of their photos. Landscapes, seascapes, animals, flowers – all may be accepted – whether new or vintage  images. People may be included in the photo but only if unidentifiable (i.e., blurred figures at a distance).

Did you know that unused patents and copyrights can be donated to charity? Intellectual Property (IP) just sitting on a shelf will lose value as it becomes obsolete. The High Alert Institute IP Donation Program seeks to rescue stranded, technology-related IP with the potential for development into marketable products. Once accepted by the program, the owner/inventor is eligible for a tax deduction equivalent to the fair market value of the IP. The Institute receives the patent licensing fees or revenue from the sale of the IP to businesses, helping us to fund our mission. In turn, businesses are able to advance their markets and create jobs for less money than starting a project from scratch.

Disasters are defined as situations in which needs exceed or overwhelm available resources. Some disasters affect an entire community, while other disasters impact individuals and families. Crises of physical or psychological health can be very personal disasters.
The therapeutic value of pets during illness, trauma, and recovery is well established. And Koi fish may be well suited for people who are not able to provide verbal pet commands or physically care for pets like dogs and cats. Koi ponds are also a source of beauty and peace, providing an ideal setting for quiet reflection or meditation.
We are working to partner with pond installers and aquatic pet rescues/shelters to offer free or reduced-cost ponds with rehomed Koi fish to people seeking this type of pet therapy.

Disasters disrupt life and impact our sense of personal, family, and community safety. Survivors and responders alike often are not aware of the emotional, psychological or spiritual challenges that they may face from disaster onset through recovery. With two decades of experience training responders and communities to prepare for the behavioral health aspects of disasters, we will continue to provide education and a curated list of resources to groups or individuals.

Non-medical factors that impact overall health are termed Social Determinants of Health or SDoH. Noise pollution, poor air quality, and poor water quality are three environmental factors known to have a strong link to overall health. And the same environmental factors that impact humans impact their pets and other animals in their care. We continue to assist in advocacy, education, and technology development to mitigate the impact of SDoH on humans and animals alike.

Our efforts in shelter and rescue are the main focus of our environmental stewardship, reducing the environmental impact of non-native aquatic animals being dumped into public waterways. The High Alert Institute also assists innovators with the design, development, and evaluation of green and renewable energy technologies. Reducing the carbon footprint associated with disaster preparedness, response, and recovery furthers our continued mission to mitigate risk and improve resilience.

We partner with public and private organizations, sharing resources and fostering partnerships to improve disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and mitigation.

The High Alert Institute team has over a century of combined research experience in medical, nursing, behavioral health, and disaster sciences. Our team provides support to researchers and technology developers through comprehensive literature searches and reviews, as well as failure mode database searches and adjudicated reviews.

When disaster strikes, most aquatic pet owners have limited options to secure the safety of their pets. Sheltering in place may not be possible if there is no power to provide aeration and “pet-friendly” shelters do not include ponds or aquariums. Our goal is to provide an option for aquatic pet owners in need of rescue and shelter for their finned friends.

Our goal is to share our two decades of disaster readiness experience with animal welfare organizations, shelters, caretakers, and pet owners, as they implement contingency  plans for natural and manmade disasters.

Join the Institute
Stay informed and get updates.

*We do NOT share your information with any other sites or organizations.

High Alert Institute

4800 Ben Hill Trail
Lake Wales, FL 33898
Office: 863.696.8090
FAX: 407.434.0804

Info@HighAlertInstitute.org

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

Terms of Use

Disclaimers

Get Your Data

Shipping Policy

Message Us

Transparency

Registrations

Do Not Sell Info

Return Policy

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE, WITHIN THE STATE, 1-800-435-7352 (800-HELP-FLA), OR VISITING www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Florida Registration #CH68959

REGISTRATION WITH A STATE AGENCY DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THAT STATE.