[Thud]

There are lots and lots of reasons it is not being done now, starting with it making too much sense, then nobody they talk to thunk of it yet, on to not-invented-here, then budget, and the real biggie - jurisdictional issues.

The CDC can't just walk in and take over from local authorities. The federal government can't do that either. It's called the US Constitution.

The most the CDC can do now is offer assistance if asked, and pre-deploy the assistance once all the necessary approvals are given. Generally they offer bags and bags of money too, which is quite effective in getting local authorities to ask the feds and/or CDC for assistance.

It is complicated at the very least. Right now Ebola is not enough of an emergency in the US to get people to spot the bloody obvious, let alone change their behavior.

[ElenaM]

The CDC can't just walk in and take over from local authorities. The federal government can't do that either. It's called the US Constitution.

Very true. Not that that has stopped this administration before.

But given the jurisdictional issues, surely the Texas health department, NYC health authorities or even USAMRIID can ask for leave to take samples from an apartment prior to decontamination. It's not like they're asking to burn the building to the ground. For that matter, why isn't the CDC requesting permission to do the sampling? Isn't that what they're supposed to be doing to start with?

I am a strong proponent of subsidiarity but this sort of situation reveals its inherent problems. Virus time does not run at the same rate as bureaucracy time. Add to that the inevitable turf wars, politics and bureaucratic inertia. . ..sheesh, what a mess.

[scouter]

The CDC can't just walk in and take over from local authorities. The federal government can't do that either. It's called the US Constitution.

I'm not a lawyer--and I don't play one on TV--but aren't there public health laws that would allow this to be done during a genuine public health emergency?