Editing Quarantine (section)

{{short description|Epidemiological intervention to prevent disease transmission}}
{{Other uses}}
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{{EngvarB|date=April 2020}}
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[[File:Wards 32-33 EBH, 1978.jpg|alt=Two sealed wards of East Birmingham Hospital, with signs informing visitors of the quarantine |thumb|A quarantine was imposed on parts of [[Heartlands Hospital|East Birmingham Hospital]] after [[1978 smallpox outbreak in the United Kingdom|a 1978 smallpox outbreak]]. ]]
A '''quarantine''' is a restriction on the [[Freedom of movement|movement of people]], animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of [[disease]] or [[Pest (organism)|pests]]. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been exposed to a [[infection|communicable disease]], yet do not have a confirmed [[medical diagnosis]]. It is distinct from [[Isolation (health care)|medical isolation]], in which those confirmed to be infected with a communicable disease are isolated from the healthy population.

The concept of quarantine has been known since biblical times, and is known to have been practised through history in various places. Notable quarantines in modern history include the village of [[Eyam]] in 1665 during the [[bubonic plague]] outbreak in England; [[American Samoa|East Samoa]] during the [[Spanish flu|1918 flu pandemic]]; the [[Diphtheria]] outbreak during the [[1925 serum run to Nome]], the [[1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak]], the SARS pandemic, the Ebola pandemic and extensive quarantines applied throughout the world during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] since 2020.

Ethical and practical considerations need to be considered when applying quarantine to people. Practice differs from country to country; in some countries, quarantine is just one of many measures governed by legislation relating to the broader concept of [[biosecurity]]; for example, [[biosecurity in Australia|Australian biosecurity]] is governed by the single overarching ''[[Biosecurity Act 2015]]''.