Disease Investigation | Blogs

AFM is Serious: Know the Symptoms. Act Fast.

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a serious neurologic condition that causes limb weakness and paralysis. While uncommon, AFM affects mostly children, and can have devastating, long-term effects for patients and their families. There have been three AFM outbreaks in the United States—in 2014, 2016, and 2018. If this biennial pattern continues, another outbreak might occur Read More >

July 27, 2020 by Blog Administrator3 Comments

Disease Investigation, Disease Outbreak, General, preparedness

Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR), COVID-19, emergency, NCIRD, Neurolig Disease, pandemic, paralysis, personal health, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program

NCEZID Labs, Programs Mark 2019 Milestones

Color illustration of a variety of microscopic germs and viruses

The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) faced challenges in 2019, but the year also marked a number of milestones for the center. NCEZID’s annual Accomplishments report recaps those achievements and lays out some of the future challenges. Milestones in Laboratory Science CDC’s high-containment laboratories (HCL), which study some of the world’s Read More >

March 16, 2020 by Rima F. Khabbaz, MD; Director, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious DiseasesLeave a comment

Disease Investigation, Disease Outbreak, General, response, Vectorborne

drug-resistant infections, ebola, Environmental Health, Foodborne, foodborne illness, high-containment laboratories, Laboratory Response Network, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, NCEZID, personal health, PulseNet, quarantine, rabies, salmonella, vaping, Waterborne, waterborne illness

Keeping Work with Select Agents Safe, Secure

A CDC scientist is wearing a protective airtight suit, equipped with a helmet and face mask. She is seated, pipetting specimens in a laboratory.

Although potentially dangerous, work with select agents and toxins provides important scientific discoveries that have led to improved detection, prevention, diagnostic, and treatment options for diseases. Select agents and toxins are also considered to be some of the most threatening to the health and safety of people, plants and animals. While there is always some Read More >

April 1, 2019 by Blog Administrator2 Comments

Disease Investigation, General, prevention, response

biosafety, Environmental Health, Federal Select Agent Program, laboratory, public health, toxin

Responding to Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease Threats in 2017

Montage of photos. From left: a photo of different raw foods, including salmon, fruits and vegetables. A photo of a boy taking an oral vaccine. A photo of bacteria growing in petri dish.

The fungal superbug Candida auris causes serious and often fatal infections. It can strike people in the places where they seek care—hospitals and other healthcare facilities. In early 2016, we knew about outbreaks of C. auris infections on multiple continents, but we were not sure whether C. auris was in the United States. Fast forward Read More >

April 9, 2018 by Rima F. Khabbaz, MD, Director, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases3 Comments

Disease Investigation, Disease Outbreak, Vectorborne

advanced molecular detection, anthrax, antibiotic resistance, candida auris, disease detectives, e. coli, Foodborne, Guillain-Barré syndrome, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, public health, salmonella, Seoul virus, yellow fever, Zika

John Snow: A Legacy of Disease Detectives

John Snow, known as the father of epidemiology, was born on March 15, 1813. This week, we honor the birthday of the first true disease detective. The Story of the Broad Street Pump London, 1854: A cramped Soho neighborhood teems with people and animals living in cramped and dirty quarters. A deadly outbreak of cholera Read More >

March 14, 2017 by Blog Administrator7 Comments

Disease Investigation, Disease Outbreak

cholera, disease detective, EIS, epidemic intelligence service, epidemiology, John Snow, public health, Waterborne

West Nile to Zika: How One Virus Helped New York City Prepare for Another

No one told the Aedes mosquito that New York is the city that never sleeps. The type of mosquito that can spread Zika virus (Zika) is most active during the early morning, day, and early evening. But New York is teeming with people during most of this time, meaning that our scientists had to find Read More >

September 12, 2016 by Mario Merlino, Assistant Commissioner, Pest Control and Veterinary Services, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene2 Comments

Disease Investigation, Disease Outbreak, preparedness, Preparedness Month, Vectorborne

Aedes albopictus, mosquito control, New York City, preparedness, west nile, Zika

Category: Disease Investigation