Quarantine

In anticipation of the blanket quarantine of the stable area at Pimlico Race Course being lifted early next week, 11 trainers have entered 14 horses for Wednesday's card at Laurel Park. Maryland Jockey Club racing secretary Georganne Hale said it's a big step toward normalizing thoroughbred racing in the state. "If we can get everyone healthy, with negative tests at Pimlico, I think out-of-state tracks will begin thinking about lifting their restrictions," Hale said. "They're all waiting to see what we do, and clearing Pimlico would be a big start."

State agriculture officials found nearly a dozen pigs yesterday on a western Carroll County farm that has been under quarantine, but they said they don't know whether these swine are among the more than 100 that have been missing since last month. Officials went to the 112-acre farm in Marston to investigate reports that pigs had been seen on the property and found 10 feral pigs in addition to a piglet, according to a state Agriculture Department statement released late yesterday. They also found a dead pig that appeared to have been struck by a car. Roland Walker, attorney for the farm's owner, Carroll L. Schisler Sr., 60, said last night that he was unaware of the Agriculture Department's visit to the property yesterday and that he couldn't be sure whether these were some of the missing swine.

Seven months behind schedule, 67 percent over budget and still not in perfect condition, state inspectors yesterday allowed the Quarantine Road Sanitary Landfill pond was cleared yesterday by state inspectors to return to operation on a conditional basis.The pond has been the center of controversy since a public works department chief, alleging that using the pond would contaminate ground water, defied orders last summer and closed it.Kenneth J. Strong, then head of the Bureau of Solid Waste, sparked a state inquiry after charging that shoddy repair work done during scheduled maintenance to the pond could endanger the environment.

TORONTO - As Ontario health officials braced for a wider outbreak of SARS around Toronto in the coming days, criticism was beginning to increase yesterday that political and health care leaders have made some critical miscalculations in their attempts to avert a broader epidemic. For two weeks, the tone of health care officials and local media coverage had been increasingly upbeat that the disease was largely contained to a fixed number of people linked to a single chain of exposures beginning at one hospital.

Say you've just discovered that your wife, who you thought had been devoured long ago by infectious zombies, has somehow survived and now is being held under quarantine by the authorities. Do you: A) Thank God she survived and patiently wait for the doctors to clear her? Or, 28 Weeks Later (Fox Atomic) Starring Robert Carlyle, Catherine McCormack, Emily Beecham. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Rated R. Time 88 minutes.

In Quarantine, a 1989 science fiction thriller, some zealous officials whose society was ravaged by a killer disease took drastic steps to isolate the infected. The execution might have been a little flawed - the sick were dropped through a chute to a concentration camp - but the practice is based on sound science. Trying to stem the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, public health practitioners in 14 countries on three continents have been employing a range of infection-control measures, including isolating hospital patients in special air-tight rooms and ordering suspected carriers to stay at home.

State officials plan to study the viability of locating a national animal quarantine facility at Fort Meade's shuttered equestrian center to serve the Mid-Atlantic region's bustling horse-breeding industry. Legislation submitted Monday on behalf of the state Agriculture Department asks the County Council to endorse state funding for a $60,000 study, which would explore creating what would be the fourth such facility in the country. The others are in Newburgh, N.Y., Miami and Los Angeles.

The operators of a Carroll County farm that has been under quarantine since a deadly parasite was discovered in an animal there have been ordered to appear in federal court next week to explain the disappearance of more than 100 pigs that prosecutors fear may be illegally slaughtered - putting at risk anyone who eats the meat. Federal prosecutors said in court documents yesterday that it is not clear whether the pigs have been moved off the farm, slaughtered or sold for slaughter, but "each of these scenarios would create a serious risk to the public health of Maryland citizens."

You could see trainer Martin Venburg coming from far away, approaching at a near gallop in his enthusiasm. He was talking by cell phone to Daniel Lucas, owner of Eagle Head, the Pimlico Race Course-based horse who had just won the seventh race. "I'm excited," he said into his phone as he bounded into the winner's circle. "Man, is that great! How many pictures do we want [of the winning horse]?" Yesterday was the first day any Pimlico horse could race at Laurel Park since a blanket quarantine was placed on the track by the Maryland Jockey Club on Jan. 21 because of an outbreak of equine herpes.

25 Years Ago (Week of April 13-19, 1969):* The Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks asked the County Council to approve four sites for county parks: 600 acres in the Clarksville area near Sheppard's Lane; 600 acres near Trotter Road, also in the Clarksville area; 300 acres at Rocky Gorge on the Howard side of the reservoir, and Cat Rock Park, 75 acres to the south of Ellicott City's Main Street.50 Years Ago (Week of April 16-22, 1944):* All dogs in Howard County were placed under a 90-day quarantine to prevent the spread of rabies.