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 [...]

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. [...]

On March 11, CDC immediately activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Atlanta to respond to the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami and radiation release in Japan. CDC continues to closely monitor the effects of this disaster and is focused on making sure it is ready to support any requests that come in from [...]

On one beautiful sunny day, we passed by a group of people under an awning. At first, I thought they might be gathering after a church service. Only as we passed did I realize they sat facing a coffin. Fifteen minutes after passing this congregation, we came upon another group of people dressed in white [...]

Over one-third of New York City (NYC) residents are from outside the United States, so in addition to preparing for and responding to numerous indigenous infectious diseases, we also encounter many imported cases, some of which end up causing outbreaks. From Atlanta to New York City   After spending five years in the CDC Influenza [...]

  When I was in high school I studied French and learned about French-speaking countries. Haiti was one of them, and I always thought that one day I would visit this beautiful country as a vacation destination. I never, ever thought I would be part of a response like the one currently underway in Haiti [...]

“Cholera has an interesting personality.” That’s what I told my friends when they asked why I was going to Haiti to help with CDC’s cholera outbreak response. Understandably, they were worried I might get sick. Like my friends, most people don’t know much about cholera, so they assume it’s a big, bad bug. And it [...]

I became a Career Epidemiology Field Officer (CEFO) in July 2008 after accepting an assignment with the North Carolina Division of Public Health in Raleigh.  My initial projects focused on increasing capacity for disaster epidemiology, evaluating communicable disease surveillance, and conducting case, cluster, and outbreak investigations.  These early projects provided great learning experiences, but my [...]

  Change is a good thing: it brings new ideas and new opportunities. I’m excited about the new changes in my career as I transition from the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) to the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) within CDC. I joined OPHPR this August as the [...]

   An increasing number of people around the country are choosing to keep live poultry, such as chickens or ducks.  Along with the benefits of backyard chickens and other poultry, it is important to consider the risk of illness, especially for children, which can result from handling live poultry or anything in the area where [...]