The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2013) has defined "Public Health" as: "Public health is the field of medicine and hygiene dealing with the prevention of disease and the promotion of health by government agencies. In the US, public health authorities are engaged in many activities, including inspection of persons and goods entering the country to determine that they are free of contagious disease. They are empowered to isolate persons with certain diseases and to ______________ such individuals, if necessary, for the public good."