Category: public health
The Strategic National Stockpile: Key to Protecting the Nation’s Health
When disaster strikes, CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is prepared to provide medicine and medical supplies to any affected area within the United States and its territories on a moment’s notice. The SNS serves as the nation’s repository of medicines and supplies for use if there is a public health emergency, such as a terrorist Read More >
Posted on by 7 CommentsPlanning for Kids: Preparedness and Pediatrics
As demonstrated in events like the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and the Ebola response of 2014, children can be particularly vulnerable in emergency situations. Children are still developing physically, emotionally, and socially and often require different responses to events than adults. Read More >
Posted on by 5 CommentsEbola Response: Year in Review
Throughout the month of December, Public Health Matters is conducting a series of year-in-review posts of some of the most impactful disease outbreaks of 2015. These posts will give you a glimpse of the work CDC is doing to prevent, identify, and respond to public health threats. Getting to Zero Getting to Zero was a Read More >
Posted on by 1 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 CommentTyphoon Haiyan: A look at public health’s role in disaster recovery
Seeing images of the devastation in the Philippines reminded me of my own experiences with Hurricane Katrina and the Asian Tsunami. During both of those events, I had the honor to join CDC (and WHO in the case of Indonesia) teams to help re-establish crucial public health services and support the impacted communities. Disaster recovery Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentThe Next Monopoly? What “Pandemic” teaches us about public health
By Sherline Lee Even for an epidemiologist who works in public health preparedness and response, being asked to explain to the public what we do at CDC can be difficult. Read More >
Posted on by 1 Comment