Abstract: Quarantine is important measure of public health to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. In the 18th and 19th centuries,the British Parliament passed a series of quarantine acts,which stipulated in detail the quarantine period,places,methods for ships arriving in Britain,and the punishment for violators. However,the effectiveness of these acts has been questioned,because the quarantine measures were effective in dealing with the spread of the plague,but they were not that effective in dealing with cholera and other infectious diseases. Accordingly,the quarantine acts were increasingly criticized during the second half of the 19th century and were eventually abolished. The reasons for their abolition include the costs of quarantine,the hindrance to commerce,and the enforcement problems of the quarantine acts,such as frequent changes in laws and the severity of the penalties.The most important reason for abolishing the quarantine acts,however,lies in the increasing conflicts with the idea of free trade in the UK. Whether the British government adopts or abolishes the Quarantine Acts,it is the result of the game between medical considerations and economic interests.

Key words: Britain, infectious diseases, ships, quarantine acts