Category: Disease Investigation
Mapping for Ebola: A Collaborative Effort
One of the difficulties faced by teams responding to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is identifying individuals and communities residing in remote areas. Existing maps of these regions either do not exist or are inadequate or outdated. This means that basic data like location of houses, buildings, villages, and roads are not easily Read More >
Posted on by 25 CommentsNeighbors Helping Neighbors
When the Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) in Virginia put out a call for volunteers to help conduct a tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation, Rosalia Parada, a long time Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteer, jumped at the chance to serve her community. The investigation was sparked when news of three students from Robert E. Lee High School Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentMERS 101: What You Need to Know About this Novel Disease
You’re flipping through the channels on your car radio and you hear the tail end of story about something called MERS. You think you’ve heard the phrase before – it’s got something to do with the Middle East, right? You’re correct – but there is more you need to know. Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentRabies Scare Leads to Quick Public Health Action
By Jacquelyn Lickness When a hospital in South Carolina spotted bats flying through its facility, officials sprang into action launching an investigation to prevent a possible rabies outbreak. Because bats are commonly infected with the virus, any contact with the flying mammals is taken very seriously. The hospital quickly involved state public health officials, who then reached Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentGiving Students First Hand Experience
By Annum Shaikh We often hear about CDC professionals who are preparing the nation and responding to various public health emergencies. But what about the students who are contributing to these initiatives? Close to the CDC campus in Atlanta resides a group that provides students with practical experience in public health emergency preparedness and the Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentKeeping Tabs on Deadly Diseases
CDC is responsible for protecting the public from a host of health threats, including some pretty scary pathogens, like Ebola virus or anthrax for example. One way we do this is through our Select Agents Program which is responsible for governing and regulating the use of certain pathogens by research facilities and labs around the Read More >
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