Centers for Disease Control

Thacker, Stephen B.; Sencer, David J.; Jaffe, Harold W.

Emerging from a small, wartime government program with a regional focus on malaria in 1946, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has become a global public health agency that addresses the entire scope of public health, with over 10 000 employees and contractors in nearly 200 occupations. The CDC's expertise has expanded in direct correlation with the expanding view of public health needs: it is recognized globally for its ability to respond to urgent threat related to disease epidemics and the health consequences of disaster and war. CDC programs have contributed significantly to the eradication and reduction of diseases such as smallpox, polio, and guinea worm, as well as the control of health problems such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), childhood lead poisoning, breast and cervical cancer, diabetes, violence, and unintentional injuries. CDC contributions in applied epidemiology, public health surveillance, risk factor reduction, and environmental risk assessment also have been critical to the practice of public health in the United States and around the world. The emerging concerns of the new century – genomics, globalization, the built environment, information technology, global warming, emerging infections, violence, and so forth – will require not only the traditional disciplines but also new expertise and new global partners, both public and private.