In March 2014, Ebola viral disease (“EVD”) emerged from several
West African countries as a substantial threat to global health.
Through a series of core legal powers pursuant to its declaration of a
public health emergency of international concern (“PHEIC”) on
August 8, 2014, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) averted a
global health disaster by requiring member countries to engage in mul- tiple public health interventions. These efficacious WHO-mandated
measures included implementation of border closures to limit the
spread of EVD within and outside of countries like Guinea, Liberia,
Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Industrialized nations, including the
United States, responded swiftly as well through their own emergency
declarations. Resulting emergency legal powers enabled strong coordination among federal, state, and local actors to systematically identify
and limit cases. Among these powers, the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (“CDC”) required state and local governments
to follow its national guidance on quarantine and isolation procedures
for persons exposed to or infected with EVD. This led to the justified
quarantine of health care workers (“HCWs”) returning from treating
Ebola patients in West African “hot zones.” In collaboration with
CDC, U.S. Customs and Border Control agents screened thousands of
incoming passengers at multiple domestic airports to find and contain
numerous, potential cases of EVD. The Food and Drug Administra- tion (“FDA”) worked in real-time to authorize the use of an extensive
array of experimental tests or drugs proven effective in identifying cases
and treating EVD patients. These (and other) legally-supported
efforts worked in unison to control the
impacts, and protect the public’s health
