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WASHINGTON (AP) - States should have the power to restrict the movement of patients with contagious diseases even before they have the chance to disobey doctors' orders, says a top federal health official.
The need for such authority to order someone quarantined emerged as lesson No. 1 from the case of the Atlanta lawyer who went to Europe despite having a dangerous form of tuberculosis.
"If we believe the patient has a strong intent to put others at risk, we need to have confidence we can take action absent documentation of intent to cause harm," Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers last week.
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