US ends hantavirus outbreak response with no answers on draconian quarantines

The report of Bell’s review , which was obtained by Jeremy Faust of Inside Medicine , shows Bell firmly sided with Florida. “Based on the foregoing, in my professional judgment, I recommend that the Federal Amended Quarantine Order be rescinded to allow Ms. Perryman to return to her home for the remainder of the 42-day quarantine period, if the Florida Department of Health agrees to accept responsibility for Ms. Perryman’s continued public health monitoring, to include remote symptom monitoring once daily,” Bell concluded. He wrote that it was “a reasonable and efficient approach that is consistent with the level of transmission risk associated with Andes virus infection. It is also consistent with the ongoing management of several other exposed individuals from the MV Hondius .” Four days later, Kennedy signed an order extending Perryman’s forced quarantine in Nebraska, with no explanation as to why Bell’s assessment was overruled. At today’s press conference, almost all of the questions from reporters related to Perryman’s case and the justification for the strict, unevenly applied quarantine protocol. Brendan Jackson, CDC’s acting director for the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, dodged all of the questions. …