How come they had to call the CDC and lockdown the hospital when there was a case of Smallpox but didn't have to do it for any of the other cases in which a patient had to be put in a clean room/ separate room? Is there a specific set of diseases like Smallpox that the CDC has to be called in for ?
Posted Dec 21, 2019, 4:22 PM UTC
I think the disease depends on how quickly and easily it is transmittable and/ or contagious, and how deadly it can be if there is an outbreak. Obviously diseases that have had a plague-like affect before fit this sort of circumstance. Also the smallpox episode if I remember had part of the beginning talking with an author about hypotheticals of its survival in a sealed jar, considering smallpox has been eradicated a smallpox outbreak is most likely a worst case scenario.
Easy answer is it's irrelevant to furthering the plot in all episodes except the small pox one.
The CDC is called when there is an issue regarding disease control, and an outbreak of smallpox would qualify as a disease control issue. Most of the patients of the show who are put into clean rooms are put their for their own protection, usually when they have an immunity problem. There’s no need to alert the CDC to immunocompromised people, only to contagious people, and only certain diseases that pose a significant public health risk.