Emerging infectious diseases and the law

Ebola, SARS, H1N1, avian influenza In recent years these names have become familiar to the public Infectious diseases have captured the attention of the public, giving renewed attention to public health and public health law In 2002, US legal scholar Lawrence Gostin noted that there had been a renaissance in public health law in recent years. A renewed appreciation of the importance of infectious diseases for human health has certainly been one factor in this renaissance, but an increased awareness of the role of law in influencing the health of populations more generally has also influenced developments in public health laws. Of course, on one level there is nothing new about infectious diseases Infectious diseases have played a major role in shaping human society throughout history, impacting on human populations and local economies Infectious diseases continue to impact upon human society They also continue to present challenges for both law and ethics The issues are challenging ones because of the complex intersections between health and human rights, between the individual and the community, and between rights and duties Although this paper discusses the implications of emerging infectious diseases for Australian law, the issues that are relevant here are neither purely domestic nor purely legal Indeed, the increasingly globalised nature of contemporary society means that public health emergencies caused by infectious diseases in one country can quickly spread to other countries This is important for several reasons First, it means that public health is a shared issue This does not simply mean that..