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What is a “rare disease”? Polio eradication and primary immunodeficiency

a child getting the polio vaccine

During the last two decades, surveillance and strategic vaccination campaigns deployed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have reduced polio incidence worldwide by more than 99 percent. Wild poliovirus (WPV) cases are now uncommon, with only 222 new cases reported worldwide so far in 2014.* Endemic transmission is now limited to areas of just Read More >

Posted on by Marta Gwinn, Consultant, McKing Consulting Corp, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a commentTags , , ,

Family health history is a non-modifiable risk factor—or is it?

a family biking

“I met three different women who had been tested [genetic testing for mutations in the BReast CAncer susceptibility (BRCA) genes] early on, in 1996, when the BRCA test first came out. They told me their family history story of mothers, aunts, uncles, and a dad who suffered from breast or ovarian or related cancers, and Read More >

Posted on by Ridgely Fisk Green,Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers For Disease Control and PreventionLeave a commentTags , ,

Every Cause Needs a Champion: Jean Chabut as a Public Health Genomics Pioneer

Cham·pi·on noun \ˈcham-pē-ən\: someone who fights or speaks publicly in support of a person, belief, cause, etc.  Most public health programs can point to a key person or group who was instrumental in assuring not only the program’s successful introduction but also its long-term viability. Jean Chabut was that champion for public health genomics in Read More >

Posted on by Muin J Khoury and Scott Bowen, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1 CommentTags