Category: preparedness

Ready Now!

Cars driving on a highway are stuck in traffic because of a snow storm.

A rare winter storm in 2008 buried Portland, Oregon under more than a foot of snow, leaving the city gridlocked. Like many others around the city, Nickole Cheron was stuck in her home for eight days. But for Nickole—who was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that weakens the body’s muscles over time—the Read More >

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How to Be Smart (About Preparedness)

Dramatic sky in contrast with the afternoon sun on a November afternoon in Limburg, the Netherlands

Emergencies are everywhere: from floods to flu, tornadoes to terrorists… How do you prepare for all of it? Trying to prepare for every possibility can seem impossible. But you can be smart about preparing for the emergencies and situations you are most likely to experience. Start by looking around at where you live, the people Read More >

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Fred the Preparedness Dog—Tails from Kansas

Fred witnesses the governor of Kansas signing a proclamation naming September "National Preparedness Month"

It all started when Fred jumped into the bathtub. It was one of those warm, Kansas summer days, back in 2013. Fred the German Shepherd had just joined our family, and my wife eagerly captured all his adorable dog-moments with her camera. So when Fred hopped into the tub, she quickly snapped a photo and Read More >

Posted on by Michael McNulty, Director of Homeland Security Operations, Kansas Department of Health and Environment1 CommentTags , , , , , ,

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

New York City larviciding helicopter

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 >

Posted on by Mario Merlino, Assistant Commissioner, Pest Control and Veterinary Services, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene2 CommentsTags , , , , ,

The Power of Preparedness

If there were one thing I’d wish for, it would be the ability to predict when and where the next infectious disease outbreak would occur and stop it before it starts. I can’t do that. And neither can anyone else. At this moment, in addition to combating Zika in the United States and polio in Read More >

Posted on by Dr. Stephen Redd, Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response4 CommentsTags , , , , , ,

Small Changes, Big Dividends: A Global Look at Preparedness

Soumbedioune fish market in Dakar, Senegal

There’s a big difference between seeing something in a picture and experiencing it in 360-degree reality, saturated with sounds and smells. In the summer of 1987, I traveled to Senegal for three weeks. This was the first time I had really traveled and seen firsthand what the rest of the world was like. In Dakar, Read More >

Posted on by Dr. Stephen Redd, Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response2 CommentsTags , , , ,