Okuzeka
Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Outbreaks and Transmission

Quarantine

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

/ˈkwɒrəntiːn/nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, quarantine means: Separating and restricting the movement of people who may have been exposed to an infection but are not sick, to see whether they become ill.

In Turkish: karantina

How it is used

Usually lasts as long as the incubation period. People are put in, placed under or released from quarantine, and 'quarantine' is also a verb. In everyday speech it is used loosely for any stay-at-home rule, but public health staff keep it separate from isolation.

Example sentences

  1. Close contacts were asked to quarantine at home for 21 days.

  2. The crew remained in quarantine on board until the test results came back.

Common collocations

  • in quarantine
  • home quarantine
  • quarantine period
  • be placed under quarantine
  • lift a quarantine
  • isolationKeeping people who are sick or known to be infected away from others, at home or in a health facility, to stop the infection spreading.
  • incubation periodThe time between being infected with a disease and the first appearance of symptoms.
  • contact tracingFinding and contacting people who have been near an infected person, so they can be informed, tested, watched for symptoms or asked to stay at home.
  • exposureContact with or experience of something that may affect health, such as a germ, a chemical, tobacco smoke, a type of diet or a particular job.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Outbreaks and Transmission

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.