Meet Your Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Have you heard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? You may have heard it mentioned in news coverage of the Zika virus outbreak. Mosquito control will be a major weapon in stopping the spread of this virus. This focus brings the CDC full circle. When the CDC was founded 70 years ago, their focus was nearly the same. The CDC was founded to stop the spread of malaria across our country. Their main weapon? You guessed it. Killing mosquitos !

Mosquito-borne viruses are just one of the things the CDC focuses on today. Remember news stories earlier this year about Ebola patients? The CDC managed the treatment of health care workers who caught Ebola. In fact, the CDC handles most health protection and promotion issues. They define their role as:

• Detecting and responding to new and emerging health threats
• Tackling the biggest health problems causing death and disability for Americans
• Putting science and advanced technology into action to prevent disease
• Promoting healthy and safe behaviors, communities and environment
• Developing leaders and training the public health workforce, including disease detectives
• Taking the health pulse of our nation

The CDC is a resource for every person. It’s not just for the country as a single group. Disease prevention really starts with people. People catch and can spread infectious diseases. People get vaccines to avoid catching and spreading disease. People report health events that the CDC tracks to find issues and trends. The CDC website can be a great resource to obtain the latest and greatest information on a wealth of public health related topics, including (but not limited to):

• Want to know the latest food recalls? The CDC keeps a current list.
• Want to know if you need extra shots before going out of the country? CDC can tell you what you need for virtually any place around the world.
• Want to know how to tell if your house might pose a risk for lead poisoning? CDC has details.
• Curious about the latest statistics about distracted driving? Check the CDC website.

How well do you know the CDC ? Are you up on your vaccines ?