Let’s Learn from History

If you have not read my earlier post today please take a minute to do that.

Several month ago I wrote an article for an online magazine which discussed a self imposed quarantine. We have seen the quarantine this week, of those who have been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu. There is a very good reason for this.

Case Study for Self Imposed Reverse Quarantine (SIRQ), Yerba Buena Island

Yerba Buena Island is in the middle of San Francisco Bay – it is the island at the midway point of today’s Bay Bridge , but in 1918, it stood alone, connected only by ferries to the mainland.

On September 23, 1918 Commandant Percival Rossiter of the San Francisco Naval Training Station ordered an immediate SIRQ of the island. All 6,000 people on the island, including civilians, were required to remain on the island. All contact with others living in the San Francisco Bay Area were halted except to receive supplies. Supplies were delivered to the docks and recovered only after the vessel delivering them had left. On the rare occasion that military personnel arrived on the island they were placed in a quarantine camp for several days.

By early November new influenza cases was decreasing in the San Francisco area. On Thursday, November 21, after two months of SIRQ the ban on travel off the island was lifted. This may have been premature as the first case of influenza on the island was reported on December 6, 1918. During December 1918 and January 1919, Yerba Buena Island recorded 3 deaths from influenza and 2 from pneumonia. Deaths during the Self Imposed Reverse Quarantine:0

Gunnison, Colorado

The city of Gunnison , Colorado took steps early to protect its citizens. In early October 1918 the Colorado State Board of Health issued a warning. Schools were closed across the county, with orders that they would remain closed. Large meetings were banned.

With the news that nearby towns were being hard hit by the pandemic, Gunnison enacted measures to protect its citizens. Anyone entering the town was required to remain in a quarantine location for two days. Barricades were erected on the main highways and cars were warned to drive through without stopping.

After three months, on February 4, 1919, Dr. Hyatt called for an end to the protective sequestration and closure order for the town of Gunnison . Only one death had been recorded. When a third wave of the flu arrived, 100 cases were reported in Gunnison and 5 deaths occurred.

Western Pennsylvania Institute for the Blind

The Western Pennsylvania Institute for the Blind escaped the influenza pandemic even though nearby Pittsburgh was hit hard. When word of illness in nearby towns reached the school, officials announced that visitors would not be allowed to enter the school nor students allowed to leave. No cases of the flu were reported at the school. Students were allowed to return home for Thanksgiving and upon their return 12 cases of the flu were recorded at the school. The school was closed and students sent home until the flu subsided.

There are many more examples of Self Imposed Reverse Quarantines that prevented or greatly reduced illness and death. For this reason it is expected that many communities will choose this same protection method when the next pandemic arrives. Both local and state officials have the power to declare a quarantine.

One Response to “Let’s Learn from History”

1. Mom of 4 says:

   April 30, 2009 at 9:04 am

   What worries me more than the flu is the panic about the flu, which so far seems grossly overblown and could itself cause all kinds of economic turmoil.
   I’m not arguing against preparedness, but rather in favor of a reasoned approach.