A History of Federal Control of Communicable Diseases:

Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act

Katherine L. Vanderhook

Candidate for Juris Doctor, 2002

April 30, 2002

Written for Professor Hutt, for the course in Food and Drug Law

In Fulfillment of the Third Year Written Requirement and the Course Requirement

Harvard Law School

Table of Contents

1. Abstract and Introduction 1-2

1. Origins of Federal Quarantine and Inspection Laws 2-11

1. Post-Civil War Communicable Disease Control:

The Fight Against Yellow Fever and the Acts of 1878-1879 11-24

1. Interstate Control and Immigrant Inspection 24-43

1. States Rights at the Turn of the Century and the Bubonic Plague 43-47

1. Health Officer as Immigration Gatekeeper 48-58

1. Resource Struggles and the Advent of Air Travel 58-61

1. Boundaries to PHS Quarantine Power:

Quarantine Powers of the Department of Agriculture 61-66

1. World War II, Malaria, and the PHS Act 66-78

1. The Gradual Post-War Relaxation of Federal Control 78-89

1. Issues in Current Quarantine Law 90-94

1. Concerns for the Future 94-105

1. Conclusion 106-111

1. Appendix A: Instructions for Federal Medical Inspectors 112-114