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OBITUARIES For the full versions of articles in this section see bmj.com David Sencer Guided and built the US public health agency David Sencer, who served as head of the US Centers of Sencer’s name being veterans in differ- for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 11 linked with his achieve- ent cities became ill years from 1966 to 1977, was “a giant in public ments in building CDC with a pneumonia health” who lost the job he loved for doing the right into an international that didn’t respond thing—trying to immunise the American public scientific powerhouse to powerful antibiot- against an epidemic. and in providing the ics, and 29 died. The “My dad’s best accomplishment was not a sin- administrative, finan- press and the public gle achievement but building the CDC commu- cial, and personnel complained that it nity, which reaches around the world. He always support for the eradi- was taking too long put people first, and he knew what was going on cation of smallpox, to find the cause. everywhere. He’d drop in on people and ask what too often it is linked to CDC officers dis- they were doing—and he’d remember,” said his CDC’s response to two covered that the vet- son Stephen, general counsel and vice president unusual disease out- erans had attended of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. breaks. an American Legion In January and Feb- convention at a hotel Eradication of smallpox ruary of 1976 about in Philadelphia. They Thomas Frieden, the current head of CDC, called 200 recruits at the Fort Dix army base in New Jer- found that the pneumonia was caused by a newly Sencer a public health giant and said that two sey developed respiratory infections. One died. identified bacterium, now called Legionella, in of his key contributions were the eradication of Researchers found that the cause was a swine flu the hotel’s air conditioning system. smallpox and the founding of the school of pub- virus that resembled the strain that caused the lic health at Emory University, across the street 1918-19 flu pandemic. “That puts the fear of God Needle exchange from the CDC in Atlanta. into people,” said Stephen Thacker, who was then When Jimmy Carter succeeded Ford as presi- Sencer was an invaluable leader during a period just starting out as epidemic intelligence officer, dent, Sencer was fired. His colleagues say that when the agency expanded. Elvin Hilyer, who one of CDC’s “disease detectives.” He is now direc- although he must have been hurt he never com- was Sencer’s deputy director, said, “He oversaw a tor for the office of surveillance, epidemiology, and plained. Later, Sencer served for four years as period of growth.” New programmes were added, laboratory services at CDC and a deputy director. New York City’s health commissioner, one of the and CDC was elevated to the same bureaucratic Sencer and his advisers from major US scien- nation’s most important posts. In the early days rank as the National Institutes Instead of Sencer’s name tific organisations saw three of the AIDS epidemic he proposed clean needle of Health and the Food and possibilities for confronting exchange to prevent transmission among inject- Drug Administration. CDC took being linked with building this potentially devastating ing drug users. There was public objection, and responsibility for programmes CDC into an international public health threat. They it didn’t happen then. in malaria, environmental scientific powerhouse it is could do nothing and hope David Sencer was born in Grand Rapids, health issues, occupational linked to CDC’s response that it went away. They could M ichigan, in 1924. His father died when he was safety and health, and family to two unusual disease develop and stockpile a vac- young, and he was raised by his mother. He inter- planning, among others. outbreaks cine, with hopes of deliver- rupted his undergraduate studies on a scholar- At CDC headquarters in ing it quickly when needed. ship at Wesleyan University to serve in the navy, Atlanta Sencer found the people—more than 300 Or they could develop a vaccine and immunise which sent him to medical school at the Univer- of them—the funds, and the resources to support people as fast as they could. sity of Mississippi. He completed his studies at the successful effort to eradicate smallpox. Wil- The consensus was to develop a vaccine and the University of Michigan, officially in the class liam Foege, who led the smallpox eradication immunise the American people as soon as possi- of 1951, but received his degree in January 1952 programme in west Africa and succeeded Sencer ble, and they did. It was the middle of a presiden- after a delay for hospital treatment of tuberculo- as head of CDC, said that Sencer had always been tial election campaign. The then president, Gerald sis. He received a masters degree in public health supportive. Ford, brought in Sencer as the government’s sci- from Harvard in 1958. In the 1970s Sencer helped to establish entific spokesman in charge. Ford was among the Sencer leaves his wife Jane, a son, and two a masters course in public health at Emory first of more than 40 million Americans to receive daughters. University’s medical school. Sencer lent staff to the the vaccine. No epidemic occurred. But a small Janice Hopkins Tanne programme and taught courses himself. In 1990 number of those receiving the vaccine developed David J Sencer, public health leader (b 1925; q 1951, it became the Rollins School of Public Health. He Guillain-Barré syndrome, and more than 20 died. Michigan), died on 2 May 2011 from complications of remained involved with the school until his death, Meanwhile another outbreak occurred, heart failure. said James Curran, the current dean. But instead thought at first to be swine flu. Middle aged army Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d3276 1210 BMJ | 28 MAY 2011 | VOLUME 342.