Washington, D.C. Quarantine Station

Jurisdiction

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) operates a quarantine station in Washington, D.C. The station’s jurisdiction includes all ports in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Quarantine Station Activities

• Coordinate public health responses (e.g., the emergency repatriation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon).
• Act as the program and agency representative at high-level meetings and workgroups in Washington (e.g., meetings with Homeland Security Council).
• Respond to reports of illness on airplanes and maritime vessels (cruise and cargo).
• Conduct tabletop exercises with local partners to ensure port and community preparedness for infectious diseases that could result in a pandemic.
• Partner with other federal agencies, local and state health departments in preparedness activities about quarantine and isolation at ports of entry.
• Review medical records of immigrants and alert state and local health departments of specific medical conditions requiring evaluation or treatment.
• Conduct training for local partners regarding migrant health-related processing and emergency preparedness.
• Assist local agriculture officers to screen international cargo and hand-carried items for potential vectors of human infectious disease.