508 
PREVENTION OF DISEASE 
health laws and regulations. The local officer of this board 
is a physician, and in some states, New York for example, 
is appointed according to the regulations governing the 
city or town in which he is to serve. The New York state 
law defines his work as follows: 
“ Every such local officer should guard against the intro¬ 
duction of such communicable diseases as are designated 
by the State Department of Health by the exercise of proper 
and vigilant medical inspection and control of all persons 
and things infected with or exposed to such diseases, and 
provide suitable places for the treatment and care of sick 
persons who cannot otherwise be provided for.” 1 
Violation of quarantine and of the various health regu¬ 
lations, such as the pollution of water and improper care 
of refuse and sewage, should be reported to the local health 
officer. In case no satisfactory results are obtained from 
the local health officer, the question may be referred to the 
State Board of Health, which gives prompt and efficient 
attention to all questions concerning the health of the 
people of the state. 
389. Quarantine. — When a person or a group of persons 
is suffering from a communicable disease, or when anyone 
has been exposed to the germs of any such disease, the 
Bdard of Health may place him under quarantine . The 
nature of the quarantine depends on the specific disease 
and the laws of the town or state in which the disease is 
prevalent. 
The New York law on this subject is typical of the best 
state laws on quarantine. It says: 
“ The Board of Health shall prohibit and prevent all 
intercourse and communication with or use of infected 
premises, places, and things; and require, and, if necessary, 
1 The Sanitary Code of the Public Health Council of the State of New 
York defines the health officer s duties in detail and may be had by writing 
to the State Department of Health at Albany. 
