Our Global Voices Posts

Chagas disease in the United States: We’ve made lots of progress, but our work is not done

Susan P. Montgomery, DVM, MPH

I have seen many important and positive changes around Chagas disease awareness, diagnosis, and treatment over the past few years, but there is still much to do.  Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Chagas disease is usually spread by triatomine bugs but can also be spread by an infected mother to her unborn baby. It can lead to serious heart disease and, less often, Read More >

Posted on by Susan P. Montgomery, DVM, MPH, Veterinary Medical Officer, CDC, Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria3 Comments

Together We Can Survive

Deepika S. Joshi, CDC India Associate Director for Science

When I first heard COVID-19 was spreading around the world, my initial thought was, “This will be contained.” I started feeling unsettled watching the virus give us a hint of its power as it breeched more and more borders. I never imagined that it would cause havoc at the scale it did. I wanted to Read More >

Posted on by Deepika Srivastava Joshi, MPH, Associate Director for Science (CDC India), Lead – Surveillance and Epidemiology1 CommentTags

“The Human Element”

Rachael Zacks interviewing community health workers in Rohingya camp.

Rachael’s work in Bangladesh took place August – September 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. The setting was ideal. We were on the top floor of a hotel where a training was being held in the Fall of 2019. Our chairs overlooked the expansive beach of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh and we had just finished a light snack Read More >

Posted on by Rachael Zacks, MD, CDC EIS officerTags ,

To Switzerland and Back…..Communicating About COVID-19

Leah Dick during her deployment to WHO in Geneva, Switzerland.

As a health communication responder, my first thought when I heard of COVID-19 was, “What can I do to help? How can I be a part of the emergency response happening with such a novel disease?” After CDC activated its Emergency Operation Center in January 2020, I worked with my supervisor to secure a spot Read More >

Posted on by Leah Dick, MPH, CHES, Health Communication Specialist3 CommentsTags

A Steep Learning Curve, Then COVID-19 Hits Home

My daughter, who spiked a temperature after returning to Atlanta from studying in Italy in March 2020, waits for emergency workers in protective gear to direct her to an ambulance so she can go to a hospital to be tested for COVID-19. Photo Credit: Jim Walls

I’ve worked as a health communication specialist on the COVID-19 response for the past year. In Japan, I translated CDC guidance into plain language so Americans quarantined on a cruise ship would understand  the information needed to board a U.S. flight home. In Atlanta, I managed the process to publish international guidance on the CDC Read More >

Posted on by Elizabeth Kurylo, MCM, CCPH, Health Communication Specialist3 CommentsTags

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Smallpox Eradication and Learning from its Success

A map illustrating the timeline for global smallpox eradication.

This year, 2020, the world is commemorating the 40-year anniversary of the declaration of the eradication of smallpox. Considered to be the greatest achievement in international public health to date, we have many lessons learned from this monumental achievement that today’s public health professionals can apply to current and future disease outbreak efforts across the Read More >

Posted on by Inger Damon, MD, PhD, FIDSA, Director, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases and Rebecca Martin, PhD, Director, Center for Global HealthTags ,

One Health – A Comprehensive Approach To Preventing Disease, Saving Lives

One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local, regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.

For as long as people have lived with – and in close proximity to – animals, the benefit of that reality has come with a serious trade-off… the potential for disease. That reality also explains why a One Health approach is used at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify and minimize the Read More >

Posted on by CAPT Casey Barton Behravesh MS, DVM, DrPH, DACVPM4 CommentsTags ,

CDC Tanzania and partners: Ensure HIV services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

A typical mobile vehicle fitted with PA system in one of the villages in Pangani District, Tanga Region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a series of unique structural, logistical, and program challenges related to routine HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services in Tanzania. To better protect healthcare workers and people living with HIV (PLHIV), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Government of Tanzania (GoT), non-governmental partners, and healthcare facilities Read More >

Posted on by 1 CommentTags

Voices from the Field: An interview with Anita Beukes, Laboratory Advisor

CDC Namibia Laboratory Advisor Anita Beukes

How is COVID-19 testing conducted in Namibia? Namibia is using semi-automated and automated platforms to conduct viral tests for COVID-19 (molecular real time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]). Testing is conducted at the government laboratories (Namibia Institute of Pathology), as well as at the University of Namibia, and in the private sector (Pathcare and a Read More >

Posted on by Anita Beukes1 CommentTags

Voices from the Field: Q&A with CDC Namibia Country Director Dr. Eric Dziuban

Dr. Eric Dziuban, CDC Namibia Country Director

What is your role in the COVID-19 response for Namibia? As CDC Namibia Country Director, my role is to lead how this office responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes how we support the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the U.S. Embassy in Namibia, and the public. I spend a lot of time working Read More >

Posted on by Dr. Eric Dziuban3 CommentsTags