Public health is a fundamental but often transparent underpinning of our modern society. From high tech labs in Atlanta to the field worldwide,we share our public health passions and look forward to listening to our communities for greater transparency and accountability. http://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/images/hex.jpg http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/blog/ 0 0 en-us nczvedwebrequests@cdc.gov Health Public Health   The influence of weather on infectious diseases has been recognized for centuries. In our own experience, we know that some diseases like influenza are more common in the winter or others thrive better in the tropics. The effects of climate – weather over long periods of time - on infectious diseases have been getting a [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321770 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321770 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:18:00 EST When CDC is working on an outbreak of foodborne illness, it’s our goal to pinpoint the source as quickly and precisely as possible so we can prevent any further threat to public health. For several years now, the PulseNet Methods Development and Reference Unit (PMDRU) has been developing and validating new methods to complement pulsed-field [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321771 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321771 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:17:00 EST The possibility that E. coli O157:H7 was a contaminant in cookie dough surprised even the most experienced microbiologists here in CDC’s Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch. E. coli O157 is a common culprit of a severe diarrheal illness, usually caused by eating contaminated and undercooked ground beef or drinking unpasteurized apple juice. It shouldn’t have even [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321772 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321772 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:37:00 EST “Wildlife Health from Land to Sea: Impacts of a Changing World.” That was the theme of the 58th annual meeting of the Wildlife Disease Association, held earlier this month. I had the pleasure of attending this conference along with several colleagues from the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED). Our work in NCZVED [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321773 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321773 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:16:00 EST The Public Health Matters blog welcomes requests from its readers. Recently, a reader asked us to address the issue of Hepatitis B in Kuwait. Dr. Frank Mahoney, a CDC medical epidemiologist who has worked extensively in the Middle East, wrote this response: The global burden of disease due to cirrhosis (hardening) of the liver and hepatocellular [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321774 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321774 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:58:00 EST Q fever is a disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii, which can be transmitted to humans from animals such as sheep, goats, and cattle. C. burnetii is considered a possible bioterrorism agent because it is quite hardy in the environment, infects people who breathe aerosols containing the organism, and has a very low infectious [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321775 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321775 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:21:00 EST Marburg hemorrhagic fever is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. While not always fatal, infection with the Marburg virus generally causes serious illness. There is no vaccine or drug therapy available for those who become infected and we know that as many of 90 percent of those infected during outbreaks have died. Members of CDC’s Special [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321776 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321776 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:27:00 EST The road to last month’s cookie dough recall started when CDC scientists reviewed information collected through PulseNet, a national network of laboratories that perform DNA “fingerprinting” of foodborne bacteria like E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria. These fingerprints are plugged into a database that CDC and its state partners routinely scan. I’m a PulseNet database [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321777 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321777 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:44:00 EST I work in CDC’s Special Pathogens Branch (SPB) where we study highly infectious viruses. My job is health communications and I’ve just returned from Uganda. I was there to work with the Ministry of Health and health educators from Uganda’s Western Districts to create materials that would help keep people there safe from Ebola and [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321778 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321778 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:47:00 EST In the U.S., human rabies is rare, thanks mostly to the availability of rabies vaccination and the elimination of dog rabies. But in many other countries around the world, dog rabies is very common and people are at greater risk. When a person travels or immigrates from an area of higher risk (like Mexico) to [...] http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321779 http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=321779 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:18:00 EST