Communicable disease is quite different from non-communicable disease. Communicable disease can spread due to direct human to human contact or human to human contact mediated by the environment. In either case, communicable disease can lead to great losses of both life and property. But what have we learned from outbreaks of communicable disease? From influenza pandemics, lessons from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), emergency of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the stigmatization of sexually-transmitted diseases such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to curfews in Western Africa meant to curb the spread of Ebola in Monrovia's West Point slum; there have been many lessons, but what have we actually learned?

The Communicable Disease Act gives the government the power to intervene--when necessary--in the private sector for the preservation of the health, safety, and morals of the community. Pursuant to this constitutional authority, all counties and cities have enacted public health statutes designed to control the spread of communicable diseases by using measures such as civil commitment, which infringe upon civil rights. Statutes, though, are fundamentally limited; they represent nothing more than the letter of the law, whereas ethics and morality represent the spirit of laws. So in regards to these public health statues, how can we adopt appropriate ethical considerations when implementing the Communicable Disease Act to preserve integrity?

The course will be led by an instructor (teacher) with extensive knowledge of communicable diseases and field experience in the control of communicable diseases. The instructor will provide examples of ethical predicaments that frontline public health workers will be forced to face. Field experiences and concepts will be discussed and criticized in relation to specific communicable diseases. Students participating in the course will learn how to think critically and develop the ability to face challenges and to find solutions to problems in the field independently