Category: Archive
Laboratory Tests in the Fight to Save Sight
Trachoma, a disease of the eye caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis, is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. Repeated infections cause the eyelid to turn inward, at which point the eyelashes scrape and permanently scar the cornea. At one time, trachoma was endemic in parts of Europe and the United States. Trachoma Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsSaving Lives with Hand Hygiene in Sierra Leone
“See what is in your hands“ – Nanah Sesay Kamara, National IPC Coordinator, Sierra Leone Hundreds of millions of patients worldwide are affected by unsafe healthcare each year, and the burden is significantly higher in countries where resources are limited. Hand hygiene is one inexpensive and effective strategy to help ensure safe care. Clean hands Read More >
Posted on byWorld No Tobacco Day – Tobacco Surveillance in Barangay Looc, Province of Zambales, Philippines; Reflections on GTCB’s Worldwide Impact
As an IT Specialist working for the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Office on Smoking and Health’s Global Tobacco Control Branch (GTCB), I have had the opportunity to travel to many places around the world. We conduct several surveys and I mainly work with the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). I provide technical support Read More >
Posted on byVietnam: Increased Surveillance Leads to Detection of Zika Virus
Vietnam EOC gathered for a briefing about the Zika virus. Along with WHO, CDC experts Anthony Mounts, Trang Do, Michael Johansson, and Leisha Nolen provided consultation during the meeting. CDC Vietnam will enhance surveillance and temperature monitoring at border control areas and alert pregnant women to be aware and report any signs and symptoms. The Read More >
Posted on byVietnam: Empowering Communities to Detect Potential Outbreaks Early
Diseases may start in local communities before they spread and become widespread outbreaks. Vietnam is harnessing the power of community members to identify potential outbreaks earlier to shorten response times and avert epidemics. A parent hears rumors from other parents about several children bitten by a rabid dog. A teacher sees an unusually high number Read More >
Posted on byA Ray of Hope for a Better-Prepared Ethiopia
I have called Ethiopia home for the past five years – it is a country that is very close to my heart. I was moved to humanitarian work by images of the famine when I was in college and subsequently adopted my daughter from here. As we face our worst drought in 50 years, I Read More >
Posted on byWhen It Was Even Scarier
This blog originally appeared on The Huffington Post on April 29, 2016 Four score and seven years ago, my mother was born into an America swarming with pathogens. Many were simply known as diseases of childhood; not all children survived them. My mother remembers how her family suffered when a cousin died during infancy from Read More >
Posted on byGlobal Immunization: 50 Years of Work, Humanity, and Success
This blog was originally posted on MyAJC.com on April 26, 2016. Government is a creature of numbers and statistics, a generator of such vast quantities of data and reports that it’s hard to appreciate sometimes the full human dimension of what it takes to protect everyone from vaccine-preventable diseases. That reality comes to mind as Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsThe “Ride” To Eliminating Malaria In Haiti
CDC works with Haiti and the Dominican Republic to eliminate malaria by 2020. #endmalaria #WMD2016 Tweet This The town of Dame Marie on the southwestern tip of Haiti, is 225 miles from the country’s teeming, chaotic capital Port-au-Prince. But getting there by car—on a good day—can easily take eight hard-fought, kidney-bashing, hairpin-turning hours. That may Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsWorld TB Day 2016
This blog was originally posted on Huffington Post on March 24, 2016. Today on World TB Day – more than a century after the scientific discovery of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB), TB continues to be one of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases and among the leading causes of death worldwide. That TB Read More >
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