Reforming Federal Communicable Disease Controls in Response to Global Threats

On January 19, 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its final rule on the control of communicable conditions. Following years of attempted reforms of its existing, antiquated regulations, CDC's rule enhances the powers of federal agents to detect, test, apprehend, quarantine, and isolate foreign and domestic travelers who may be infected with pandemic diseases (e.g., H1N1, Ebola, XDR-TB, MERS). Modernizing national public health emergency powers is vital in an era of constant disease threats emerging from increased globalization. Still CDC's reforms are controversial. State and local public health officials sought greater clarity on federal/state roles. Libertarians demanded greater individual protections from expanding federal public health powers. Rising costs, increased wait times, and limited capacity to implement federal protocols punctuated concerns among travel industries. With leadership changes at the Department of Health and Human Services and CDC, and the Trump Administration's ideological and political preferences for heightened nationalism and expressed disdain for international cooperation, CDC's regulations present an essential tool to address communicable diseases consistent with global health initiatives