Division of Global Migration Health

The U.S. Quarantine Stations work at 20 major ports of entry where most international travelers arrive, to help prevent contagious diseases from entering and spreading through the United States.

Quarantine public health officers work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and emergency medical services to also detect sick travelers entering the country.

Because of the decline of communicable diseases throughout the twentieth century, the focus was shifted from routine inspections to program-level management, and the number of quarantine stations decreased to seven in 1995.

[9] Medical inadmissibility can be based on four conditions: a communicable disease of public health significance, a physical or mental disorder with harmful behavior, drug abuse or addiction, or, for immigrant visa applicants, lack of required vaccinations.

Quarantine officers coordinate with airlines, cruise lines, and port officials to investigate illness reports and track the spread of disease.

[9] As a federal agency under the US Department of Human and Health Services, CDC can legally detain, medically examine, and release a person who may have a contagious disease that is quarantinable.

[12] Quarantine officers routinely monitor animals and cargo entering the United States that may pose a risk to public health.

They inspect live animals, including dogs, cats, monkeys, bats, turtles, ticks, mosquitoes, snails, and civets.

CDC also regulates the import of animal products like bushmeat, hunting trophies, untanned goat skin drums, and uncured leather.