Infectious diseases cause a huge global burden of disease, wreaking havoc on public health systems and economies around the world, disproportionately impacting poor people. Among the leading causes of global mortality are lower respiratory tract infections, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis (TB). Emerging infectious diseases, such as MERS/SARS, and infectious diseases that have existed but are increasingly growing in prevalence or geographic spread, such as extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and the Zika virus, are examples of infectious diseases. Prevention and infectious disease control require a detailed understanding of the factors that influence transmission. 

One of the most important functions of public health legislation is to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. The proper use of legal powers would depend on the severity of the disease, the mode of transmission, and the ease with which the disease is spread. Some of the factors that influence infectious disease transmission that is studied during pandemics, epidemics, or to prevent the spread of infectious diseases include: 

Testing and treatments

A key public health policy is to screen people to see whether they’ve been infected with or exposed to an infectious disease. Early care has significant public health benefits; for example, people with tuberculosis and HIV infection who receive treatment are less likely to spread the infection to others. Routine, voluntary HIV testing benefits both HIV-positive people and their intimate partners by allowing them to receive prevention, care, and treatment services sooner.

Isolation and healthcare delivery 

Individuals and groups that might have been exposed to infectious disease may be isolated under public health legislation, as well as the closing of businesses and premises and the confiscation of land. These powers must be exercised based on public health considerations, with no discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, tribal heritage, or other irrelevant criteria. Those who have incurred economic damage as a result of a public health order involving their property or facilities should be fairly compensated under the law.

These methods have become standard in infectious disease control and prevention strategies and environments where antiretroviral drugs are readily available and affordable, and it has been shown to increase screening prevalence as well as the number of people who are aware of their health status and receive treatments to minimize mother-to-child transmission. Screening programs do not mandate regular monitoring in areas where access to healthcare is restricted, but rather require health care providers to screen symptomatic patients, patients who request testing, and any blood obtained for plasma or vaccine manufacturing.