A critical factor in dealing with infectious diseases is recognizing the ethical issues that accompany them. For example, some individuals do not agree with the use of vaccines, as they believe that the risks outweigh the benefits (for whatever reason). With that being said, despite the science behind vaccination, nobody can physically force another to be vaccinated. Similarly, nobody can be forced to take part in experimental research. Many things go into conducting such studies: informed consent, risk/benefit analysis, respect for persons, etc. Thus, just because somebody would be a good case to study does not entitle any researcher(s) to utilize them. Furthermore, it is not a simple decision to quarantine/isolate somebody. Such action takes them away from friends, family, work, school, etc. Accordingly, we must pay attention, be careful, and make sure we are making the proper decision before doing so.

Clearly, as just discussed, there are a number of ethical issues associated with studying infectious diseases. A lens through which we can examine these issues is the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Taking advantage of poor, African-American males, the researchers in this study denied penicillin (a known effective treatment) to their participants, 399 of whom had latent syphilis, in an effort to see the progression of the disease when untreated (which was their justification for the study). Though the study itself was extremely unethical, it had drastic effects on scientific research. The resulting Belmont Report established three principles to which all scientific research must abide: (1) respect for persons – all participants should be treated as autonomous beings, and non-autonomous beings should be protected; (2) beneficence – benefits of the research should outweigh the risks; (3) justice – selection and assignment of participants should be fair and just.

On the note of fair and just selection of participants, the effects of unjust selection can be devastating. For instance, having selected only African-Americans to participate, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study makes it harder for the African-American community to trust scientific researchers. As a result of such research, they are less willing to participate and are more likely to distrust the medical profession in general.