| Acinetobacter infection | Actinomycosis | Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs) | Aerobic organisms | Al Kumrah virus | Anaplasmosis | Animal importation regulations | Anthrax | Antimicrobial resistance | Arctic Investigations Program | Arenaviruses | Argentine hemorrhagic fever | Avipox | Biosafety Level 4 laboratory | Bioterrorism preparedness | Blood, organ, and other tissue safety | Bolivian hemorrhagic fever | Botulism | Bovine spongiformEMERGING encephalopathy | Brazilian hemorrhagic fever | Buffalopox & | Bunyaviruses ZOONOTIC | Buruli ulcer | Campylobacter | Candidiasis | Carbapenem- producing Klebsiella pneumoniae | CDC Drug Service | Central line bloodstream infection | Chikungunya fever | Cholera | Chronic fatigue syndrome | Chronic wastingINFECTIOUS disease | Clostridium difficileinfection | Community mitigation | CowpoxDISEASES | Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease | Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever | Cryptococcus | Cryptosporidium | Dengue fever | Diarrheal diseases | Eastern equine encephalitis | Ebola hemorrhagic fever | Ehrlichiosis | Emerging Infections Program | Emerging Infectious Diseases journal | Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Program | E. coli infection | Equine morbillivirus | Flaviviruses | Filoviruses | Foodborne diseases | FoodNet | Food safety | Giardia | Glanders | Global migration and quarantine | Green monkey disease | Guillain-Barré syndrome | Guanarito virus | Hansen’s disease (leprosy) | Hantavirus | Healthy travel | Hendra virus disease | Immigrant, refugee, and migrant health | Immunization safety | Japanese encephalitis | Junin virus | Kawasaki disease | Klebsiella pneumoniae in healthcare settings | Korean hemorrhagic fever | Kuru | Kyasanur forest disease | Laboratory quality | Laboratory Response Network | Lassa fever | Leptospirosis | Listeriosis | Lujo virus | Lyme disease | Lymphocytic choriomeningitis | Machupo virus | Marburg hemorrhagic fever | Melioidosis | MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection | Milker’s nodule | Molluscum contagiosum | Monkeypox | Mucormycosis | Mycobacterium abscessus in healthcare settings | National Healthcare Safety Network | Naegleria fowleri | National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) | Nipah virus encephalitis | Nocardiosis | Omsk hemorrhagic fever | Orf virus | Parapox | Pasturella species | Plague | Prion diseases | Pseudocowpox | PulseNet | Puumala virus | Q fever | Quarantine stations | Rabies | Raccoonpox | Rat-bite fever | Recreational water illnesses | Reye syndrome | Rickettsial diseases | Rift Valley fever | Rocky Mountain spotted fever | Sabia virus | Safe Water System | Salmonella | Sealpox | Select Agent Program | Shiga toxin-producing E. coli | Shigella | Skunkpox | Slow virus | Smallpox | Squirrelpox | Tanapox | Tickborne encephalitis | Tularemia | Typhoid fever | Undulant fever (brucellosis) | Unexplained fatal illness | Urinary tract infection (catheter-associated) | Vaccinia | Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) | Vaccine safety | Vibrio vulnificus | Viral hemorrhagic fevers | Volepox | Waterborne diseases | West Nile virus | Western equine encephalitis | Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus | The Yellow Book | Yellow fever | Yersiniosis | Zika virus | Zoonosis 2 3 4 Here are just a few examples of what we do: • Foodborne illness. One in six Americans gets sick each year from something they ate. Illnesses caused by eating food contaminated with germs like Salmonella and Escherichia coli (E. coli) are costly and all too common. The good news is that these illnesses can be prevented. 1 • Infections that spread in a hospital, nursing home, or other healthcare setting. At any given National Center for Emerging time, about 1 in every 20 patients has an infection related to their hospital care. But when staff and patients and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases follow recommendations, infections are prevented, and The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious this saves both lives and dollars. Diseases is committed to protecting people from infectious • Infections that are resistant to antimicrobial diseases. We target familiar problems (like foodborne drugs (like antibiotics). Antimicrobial resistance illnesses) and many that are less common (like viral is the result of germs changing in a way that reduces hemorrhagic fever). or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or Above, L-R: 1 CDC scientists in 2011 study bats in Uganda to learn more about their relationship to Marburg virus which, like Ebola virus, can cause a rare but deadly hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates. 2 Worldwide water quality is declining, as evidenced by the outbreak of cholera in Haiti in 2010. 3 The Emerging Infectious Diseases journal publishes peer-reviewed scientific articles about emerging infections. 4 Bacillus anthracis spores cause anthrax, a rare but deadly disease in animals (for example, cows) and people. 1 2 3 4 other agents to cure or prevent infections. Methicillin- shots they need or precautions they should take? The resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the Travelers’ Health Web site (www.cdc.gov/travel) is the more familiar types of antimicrobial infections, but comprehensive online resource for travelers who need many others are rapidly spreading in hospitals, the answers to their questions about how to stay healthy community, and even on the farm. Tracking and limiting before, during, and after a trip. the spread of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms is • Diseases spread by mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. critical to the center’s mission. These vectors continue to spread many of the world’s • Deadly diseases. Germs that cause smallpox, anthrax, most destructive diseases. Each year, scientists discover, rabies, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and plague require 24/7 on average, about two new mosquito-transmitted viruses oversight, especially because of the threat of bioterrorism. that can make people sick. Tracking these diseases domestically and globally, Such wide-ranging work is guided by principles—to operating state-of-the-art laboratories that can identify conduct exemplary science, inform policies using our them, and preventing their spread are national priorities. scientific evidence, strengthen preparedness, and share • Illnesses that affect immigrants, refugees, migrants, vital information with the public. Making the country safer expatriates, and travelers. For example, where do from the spread of infectious diseases also requires ongoing international travelers find up-to-date advice about collaborations with national and global partners. Above, L-R: 1 The Biotechnology Core Facility uses state-of-the-art methods to help CDC researchers study infectious agents. 2 CDC’s laboratories at Fort Collins, Colorado, help develop vaccines to prevent dengue, West Nile virus infection, and other diseases spread by mosquitoes. 3 Producing posters for display in airports is one way that CDC helps international travelers stay healthy. 4 Healthcare-associated infections do not just affect patients in hospitals. These infections are also a problem for the millions of older adults living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. About Our Name Infectious diseases mean illnesses caused by germs (such as • reappearing in an area (like dengue in south Florida). bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that enter the body, multiply, and • old infections that have become resistant to antibiotics can cause an infection. (like staph and the deadly gram-negative infections that • Some infectious diseases are contagious (or communicable), are cropping up in hospitals). that is, spread from one person to another. Zoonotic means infectious diseases of animals that are • Other infectious diseases can be spread by germs carried in spread to humans by ticks, mosquitoes, or fleas or contact with air, water, food, or soil. They can also be spread by vectors animals; these diseases include (like biting insects) or by animals. • Lyme disease (spread by ticks). Emerging means infections that have increased recently or are • West Nile virus disease (spread by mosquitoes). threatening to increase in the near future. These infections could be • rabies (spread by raccoons, skunks, bats, and other • completely new (like SARS). mammals). Below, L-R: 1 Farm animals such as goats can spread Salmonella, E. coli, the bacteria that cause Q fever, and other germs. 2 This type of flea can spread plague. Scattered cases of plague occur in the southwestern United States. 3 Each year, roughly 1 in 6 people in the United States gets sick (and 3,000 die) from eating contaminated food. 4 Athletes should bandage scrapes and cuts to protect against MRSA infection. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 The Center’s Seven Divisions The center’s seven divisions work with partners throughout the United States and around the world to prevent illness, disability, and death caused by infectious diseases. Division of 5 Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases and hygiene (WASH)-related disease, focusing on Focus diarrheal diseases, such as cholera and typhoid. To prevent diseases caused by contaminated food or water • Educate people in the United States about using and detect and contain fungal infections. water sanitation systems and good hygiene to keep Some key activities our drinking water, swimming pools, lakes, and other • Rapidly identify the germs that cause foodborne illnesses, water sources safe. track down the places where contamination occurs, and • Detect fungal threats, such as candidiasis,