Public Health Matters Blog Posts
When Preparedness Hits Home
Getting people to think about an emergency before it happens is not always easy. Unfortunately, it usually takes a disaster for people to realize the importance of being prepared. I work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the National Center for Environmental Health where I focus on emergency preparedness. I know all too well the values of making an emergency kit and having a plan, much to the chagrin of my two sons who swear nothing ever happens where we live. But this spring, something did happen and my family was able to see firsthand why I was always trying to get them to think about preparedness. Read More >
Posted on by 7 CommentsVampire Diaries: Getting Back to My Roots Through a Deadly Outbreak
By Lizette Durand Setting the Scene Last August, villagers in a secluded section of Peru fell prey to blood sucking vampire bats infected with rabies. It sounds like the premise for the next vampire movie, but this wasn’t a story line thought up in Hollywood, it was the real deal. Read More >
Posted on by 11 CommentsKiller Strain: Anthrax
The possibility of a terrorist attack is a scary thought and a very real danger. Terrorists could attack the American public in many different ways, including a bomb or by releasing a chemical, radiological, or biological agent. A biological attack, or bioterrorism, is the intentional release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs to cause illness Read More >
Posted on by 12 CommentsFirst there were Zombies; then came Hurricanes!
Posted by: Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator and Ali S. Khan, Assistant Surgeon General and Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, CDC With June 1st only days away, FEMA, CDC and the rest of the team are busy preparing for the upcoming hurricane season. And now that you’ve taken the necessary precautions to prepare Read More >
Posted on by 54 CommentsPractice Makes Perfect: Responding to a Mock Emergency
As relative newcomers to the field of public health, we’ve often dreamt — morbid as it may sound — about the day when we could be sent to respond to an actual disease outbreak. You can imagine our excitement when we found out that we would be getting that chance in our Emerging Infectious Diseases Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsThe JIC Never Sleeps
It was 5:45 a.m.The familiar vibration from the cell phone woke me up. The voice message said, “There was an 8.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred near Japan. We’re not sure about the extent of damages, deaths or injuries. But it has caused a tsunami that might affect Hawaii and the west coast later this morning. Read More >
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