The Florida Senate

392.51  Findings and intent.--The Legislature finds and declares that active tuberculosis is a highly contagious infection that is sometimes fatal and constitutes a serious threat to the public health. The Legislature finds that there is a significant reservoir of tuberculosis infection in this state and that there is a need to develop community programs to identify tuberculosis and to respond quickly with appropriate measures. The Legislature finds that some patients who have active tuberculosis have complex medical, social, and economic problems that make outpatient control of the disease difficult, if not impossible, without posing a threat to the public health. The Legislature finds that in order to protect the citizenry from those few persons who pose a threat to the public, it is necessary to establish a system of mandatory contact identification, treatment to cure, hospitalization, and isolation for contagious cases and to provide a system of voluntary, community-oriented care and surveillance in all other cases. The Legislature finds that the delivery of tuberculosis control services is best accomplished by the coordinated efforts of the respective county health departments, the A.G. Holley State Hospital, and the private health care delivery system.

History.--s. 1, ch. 88-389; s. 1, ch. 88-398; s. 2, ch. 94-320; s. 94, ch. 97-101.