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The latent period of disease X is 23 days, and the latent period of disease Y is 5 days. Both diseases have an incubation period of 15 days. In which group would quarantine of the infected persons be more effective in preventing the spread of the respective diseases?

Group of answer choices
a) Disease X
b) Disease Y
c) The effect of quarantine would be equal

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

Quarantine would be more effective for Disease Y because its shorter latent period means that infectiousness will be detected and can be contained sooner than with Disease X. so, option a is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

You are asking which disease would have a more effective quarantine strategy, considering the latent and incubation periods of the diseases. The latent period is the time during which a disease is present but not active or producing symptoms. The incubation period is the time between infection with a pathogen and the appearance of symptoms. For Disease X with a latent period of 23 days and Disease Y with a latent period of 5 days, both having an incubation period of 15 days, quarantine would be more effective for Disease Y. This is because individuals with Disease Y will become infectious sooner, and quarantine early in the disease's time course will prevent them from spreading the infection to others.

The more effective group for quarantine would be Disease Y. Quarantine is used to prevent the spread of infectious diseases by isolating infected individuals from the general population. Diseases with shorter latent periods, like Disease Y with a latent period of 5 days, have a quicker onset of symptoms and are more likely to be detected early during the incubation period. This allows for faster identification and isolation of infected individuals, reducing the risk of transmission to others. Disease X, with a longer latent period of 23 days, would have a longer period of potential transmission before symptoms appear, making it more difficult to effectively quarantine individuals in the early stages of infection.

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