Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Jul;10(7):1206-12.
doi: 10.3201/eid1007.030703.

SARS control and psychological effects of quarantine, Toronto, Canada

Laura Hawryluck  1 , Wayne L Gold, Susan Robinson, Stephen Pogorski, Sandro Galea, Rima Styra
Affiliations

SARS control and psychological effects of quarantine, Toronto, Canada

Laura Hawryluck et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Jul.

Abstract

As a transmissible infectious disease, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was successfully contained globally by instituting widespread quarantine measures. Although these measures were successful in terminating the outbreak in all areas of the world, the adverse effects of quarantine have not previously been determined in a systematic manner. In this hypothesis-generating study supported by a convenience sample drawn in close temporal proximity to the period of quarantine, we examined the psychological effects of quarantine on persons in Toronto, Canada. The 129 quarantined persons who responded to a Web-based survey exhibited a high prevalence of psychological distress. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression were observed in 28.9% and 31.2% of respondents, respectively. Longer durations of quarantine were associated with an increased prevalence of PTSD symptoms. Acquaintance with or direct exposure to someone with a diagnosis of SARS was also associated with PTSD and depressive symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure
Number of persons in quarantine, Toronto, Canada, February 23–June 30, 2003. Figure courtesy of Toronto Public Health.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Risse GB. "A long pull, a strong pull and all together": San Francisco and bubonic plague, 1907–1908. Bull Hist Med. 1992;66:260–86. - PubMed
    1. Twu SJ, Chen TJ, Chen CJ, Olsen SJ, Lee LT, Fisk T, et al. Control measures for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003;9:718–20. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update: use of quarantine to prevent transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome—Taiwan 2003. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2003;52:680–3. - PubMed
    1. Mandavilli A. SARS epidemic unmasks age-old quarantine conundrum. Nat Med. 2003;9:487. 10.1038/nm0503-487 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Toronto Public Health. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 2003. May 29 [cited 2003 Aug 30]. Available from: http://www.toronto.ca/health

MeSH terms