The “quarantine of susceptible contacts without presumptive evidence of immunity” is a key tool that health experts use to control outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Once upon a time, it was the only tool.
Quarantines for Vaccine Preventable Diseases
Some examples of quarantine periods include:
- 10 days for healthy dogs and cats after a bite (rabies)
- 21 days for measles
- 21 days for chickenpox
In addition to susceptible contacts, during an outbreak, even those who aren’t contacts are sometimes put under quarantine, or at least restricted from going to school.
At least they are if they aren’t naturally immune or haven’t been vaccinated. This is especially common during outbreaks of measles or chicken pox, in which case the quarantine may last much longer than 21 days.
In general, unvaccinated kids will have to stay out of school for at least 21 days after the last case could have been contagious and exposed others.
More on Quarantines for Vaccine Preventable Diseases
- How to Avoid a Quarantine During an Outbreak at Your School
- Quarantine Signs for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
- The Leicester Method and Smallpox Eradication
- Incubation Period of Diseases
- How Often Should You Do Vaccine Titer Testing?
- Why quarantine for measles is critical…and quarantine for Ebola was not
- Updated Recommendations for Isolation of Persons with Mumps
- Postexposure Prophylaxis, Isolation, and Quarantine To Control an Import-Associated Measles Outbreak
- The quarantine period for Ebola virus
- We Learned the Hard Way
- This Disease Can Still Get You Quarantined For Months — And It’s On The Rise