Ethics of quarantine: the West African Ebola crisis

Abstract

As West Africa is reeling from the devastating Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), there should be an examination of public health measures that were implemented by the three most affected nations, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea(4). Quarantine is a practice that is hundreds of years old that precedes the development of the germ theory and was utilized globally to protect communities from infectious diseases (2). However with this practice came stigmatization as well as questions of whether it was ethical to infringe an individual’s autonomy and what did society or the governments “owe” an infected person (2). Examining the 2014 EVD crisis, there can understanding that with the backdrop of past political, economic and social sufferings, there still is a great responsibility on nations and health systems to uphold the ethical standards of public health measures such as quarantine (1). Using the four principles of Ross E. G. Upshur's Public health Ethics Framework, there will be comparisons of actions taken by the “powers” and the ultimate effects on the individuals under quarantine in these regions (3). There will be a clear demonstration that quarantine measures observed by affected countries infringed on an individual’s autonomy, with a lack of consideration of physical and social needs and the required transparency in government and health system procedures.