Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T08:47:06.838Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Global and Domestic Legal Preparedness and Response: 2014 Ebola Outbreak

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2014

James G. Hodge Jr*
Affiliation:
Public Health Law and Ethics, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to James G. Hodge, Jr, JD, LLM, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Ross Blakley Library, Rm 318, Arizona State University, PO Box 877906, Tempe, AZ 85287-79906 (e-mail: [email protected]).

Abstract

The global rise of Ebola viral diseases in 2014 necessitates legal responses that promote effective public health responses and respect for the health and human rights of populations. Compulsory public health interventions, approval and administration of experimental drugs or vaccines, and allocation of finite resources require difficult choices in law and policy. Crafting legal decisions in real-time emergencies is neither easy nor predictable, but it is essential to controlling epidemics and saving lives.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4)

Type
Commentaries
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Outbreaks chronology, Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website; September 6, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/resources/outbreak-table.html#one. Accessed September 26, 2014.Google Scholar
2. 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website; September 14, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/. Accessed September 26, 2014.Google Scholar
3. The world factbook. Central Intelligence Agency website. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/. Accessed September 26, 2014.Google Scholar
4.Groseth, A, Marzi, A, Hoenen, T, et al. The Ebola virus glycoprotein contributes to but is not sufficient for virulence in vivo. PLOS Pathog. 2012;8(8):e1002847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Hayden, EC. World struggles to stop Ebola.Nature.com; August 26, 2014. http://www.nature.com/news/world-struggles-to-stop-ebola-1.15768. Accessed August 27, 2014.Google Scholar
6. WHO statement on the meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee regarding the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. World Health Organization website; August 8, 2014. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2014/ebola-20140808/en/. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
7.Hodge, JG. Emergency legal preparedness concerning Ebola virus disease (EVD): a primer. The Network for Public Health Law website; August 25, 2014. https://www.networkforphl.org/_asset/dzf8u4/Ebola-Outbreak-2014---Network-Overview.pdf. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
8.Fofana, U, MacDougall, C. Sierra Leone army blockages Ebola areas, Liberia declares emergency. Reuters website; August 7, 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/07/us-health-ebola-africa-idUSKBN0G70WW20140807. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
9. USAID announces $5 million in additional assistance for West Africa Ebola response. US Agency for International Development website. August 27, 2014. http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/aug-27-2014-usaid-announces-5-million-additional-assistance-west-africa-ebola. Accessed August 27, 2014.Google Scholar
10. Questions and answers on experimental treatments and vaccines for Ebola. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website; August 8, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/qa-experimental-treatments.html. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
11.Levine, M. U.S. speeds up human clinical trials for promising Ebola vaccine. Los Angeles Times website; August 18, 2014. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ebola-vaccine-clinical-trials-accelerated-nih-20140818-story.html. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
12. Ebola hemorrhagic fever: what CDC is doing. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/what-cdc-doing.html. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
13. Emergency use authorizations. US Food and Drug Administration website; August 6, 2014. http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/safety/emergencysituations/ucm161496.htm#ebola. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
14.Borio, L. FDA works to mitigate the West Africa Ebola outbreak. FDA website; August 22, 2014. http://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2014/08/fda-works-to-mitigate-the-west-africa-ebola-outbreak/. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
15.Hodge, JG, Anderson, ED. Principles and practice of legal triage during public health emergencies. NYU Ann Surv Am L. 2008;64(2):249-291.Google Scholar
16.Anderson, ED, Hodge, JG. Emergency legal preparedness among select US local governments. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(suppl 2):S176-S184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Hodge, JG, Gable, L, Vernick, J, et al. Emergency system for advance registration of volunteer health professionals (ESAR-VHP): legal and regulatory issues.. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services; 2008:1-17.Google Scholar
18.Hoffman, S, Goodman, RA, Stier, DD. Law liability, and public health emergencies. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(2):117-125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Rosenbaum, S, Harty, MB, Sheer, J. State laws extending comprehensive legal liability protections for professional health-care volunteers during public health emergencies. Public Health Rep. 2008;123:238-241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Health Systems Research Inc. Altered standards of care in mass casualty events. Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. April 2005; No.05-0043.Google Scholar
21.Hodge, JG, Garcia, A, Anderson, ED, Kaufman, T. Emergency legal preparedness for hospitals and health care personnel. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009; 3(suppl 2):S37-S44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22. S/Leone: nurses treating Ebola accused of unethical conduct. StarAfrica website; August 27, 2014. http://en.starafrica.com/news/sleone-nurses-treating-ebola-accused-of-unethical-conduct.html. Accessed August 27, 2014.Google Scholar
23.Steenhuysen, J. U.S. FDA says ‘stands ready’ to work with companies developing Ebola drugs. Reuters website; August 2, 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/02/health-ebola-fda-idUSL2N0Q733H20140802. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
24.Morin, M. Use of experimental Ebola drug raises red flags among medical experts. Los Angeles Times website; August 5, 2014. http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-ebola-virus-ethics-20140806-story.html. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
25.Hodge, JG, Public health emergency legal preparedness and response. In Public Health Law in a Nutshell. St. Paul, Minnesota: West Academic Publishing; 2014: 227-247.Google Scholar
26. Liberia: border guards given shoot-on site orders. StarAfrica website; August 18, 2014. http://en.starafrica.com/news/liberia-border-guards-given-shoot-on-sight-orders.html. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
27.Paye-Layleh, J. Liberia president declares Ebola curfew. Consolidated Communications website; August 19, 2014. http://mycci.net/front_controller.php/news/read/category/General/article/the_associated_press-who_says_ebola_has_killed_more_than_1200-ap. Accessed September 17, 2014.Google Scholar
28.Hildebrandt, A. Ebola outbreak: why Liberia’s quarantine in West Point slum will fail. CBC news website; August 25, 2014. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ebola-outbreak-why-liberia-s-quarantine-in-west-point-slum-will-fail-1.2744292. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
29. Human Rights Commission visits Ebola centre. Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone website. http://www.hrcsl.org/content/human-rights-commission-visits-ebola-centre. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
30.Stevis, M. South Africa issues travel bans for countries gripped by Ebola virus. The Wall Street Journal website; August 21, 2014. http://online.wsj.com/articles/south-africa-issues-travel-ban-for-countries-hit-by-ebola-virus-outbreak-1408638457. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
31. WHO: Air travel is low-risk for Ebola transmission. World Health Organization website; August 14, 2014. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2014/ebola-travel/en/. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
32. Flight restrictions hamper ability to battle Ebola, UN cautions. UN News Centre website; August 25, 2014. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48555#.U_3OzJXn-1t. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
33.Gostin, LO, Lazzarini, Z. Human Rights and Public Health in the AIDS Pandemic. New York, New York: Oxford University Press; 1997.Google Scholar
34.Gostin, L. JAMA Forum: Tackling the Ebola epidemic. news@JAMA website; August 19, 2014. http://newsatjama.jama.com/2014/08/19/jama-forum-tackling-the-ebola-epidemic/. Accessed August 27, 2014.Google Scholar