Quarantine is keeping a person or an animal that may have caught an infectious disease, but does not yet show any sign of it, away from others for a fixed period, to see whether the disease develops. Which of the following situations is the best example of quarantine?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Ramesh sat next to a passenger on a train who was later found to have measles. Ramesh feels perfectly well, but he is told to stay alone at home for 14 days and to report at once if he gets a fever.
Quarantine has four parts: the person or animal may have caught an infectious disease, shows no sign of it yet, is kept away from others, and this is for a fixed period to see whether the disease develops.
In Option (3) Ramesh may have caught measles (he sat next to a patient), he feels perfectly well, he is told to stay alone at home, and this is for 14 days while he watches for fever. All four parts are present.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) A patient who already has a high fever and the rash of measles is kept in a separate ward of the hospital until he recovers. — Incorrect. The patient already shows signs of the disease, and he is kept apart until he recovers, not for a fixed period to see whether it develops.
Option (2) Neha, who has not been near anyone with an infectious disease, stays at home for 14 days to prepare for an examination. — Incorrect. Neha has not been near any infectious disease, so there is no chance that she has caught one.
Option (4) Ramesh sat next to a passenger on a train who was later found to have measles. Ramesh feels perfectly well and is told to watch for fever, but he goes to his office as usual. — Incorrect. Ramesh is not kept away from others; he goes on meeting people at his office.