Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

**Establishment and Growth:**
– CDC was founded on July 1, 1946, as a branch of the U.S. Public Health Service.
– Atlanta was chosen as the location due to malaria prevalence in the Southern United States.
– Initial focus was on mosquito abatement and malaria control.
– CDC moved to its current headquarters in 1960.
– Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) was established in 1951.
– Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP) began in 1980.
– CDC has trained over 18,000 disease detectives in over 80 countries.
– The Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET) has graduated 950 students.

**Evolution and Mission:**
– Renamed to Centers for Disease Control in 1980 and CDC and Prevention in 1992.
– CDC’s focus broadened to include chronic diseases, disabilities, and more.
– CDC combats emerging diseases and health risks like West Nile virus and bioterrorism.
– CDC is the national public health agency of the United States.
– Its goal is to protect public health and safety through disease control and prevention.
– CDC focuses on infectious diseases, foodborne pathogens, and environmental health.
– It conducts research on non-infectious diseases like obesity and diabetes.

**Leadership, Structure, and Budget:**
– The current Director of CDC is Mandy Cohen, with Nirav D. Shah as the Principal Deputy Director.
– CDC operates under the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
– The agency has an annual budget of around $11 billion.
– CDC had 10,899 employees in 2015 and approximately 15,000 personnel as of 2021.
– CDC is organized into Centers, Institutes, and Offices (CIOs) for specific areas of expertise.
– Offers grants to advance health, safety, and awareness, awarding over 85% of its annual budget through grants.

**Locations and Workforce:**
– Most CDC centers are in Atlanta, with some operating in other domestic locations.
– Building 18 at Roybal campus has the premier BSL4 laboratory in the U.S.
– National Center for Health Statistics is in Hyattsville, Maryland.
– National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has primary locations in multiple cities.
– CDC staff includes 6,000 contractors and 840 U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers.
– Eighty percent of the workforce hold bachelor’s degrees or higher, with common job titles like engineer, epidemiologist, physician, and statistician.

**Training Programs and Initiatives:**
– Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) consists of disease detectives investigating public health problems.
– EIS officers provide technical expertise in containing and investigating disease outbreaks.
– EIS program is a model for the international Field Epidemiology Training Program.
– CDC operates the Public Health Associates Program, a two-year paid fellowship for recent college graduates.
– Founded in 2007, the program allows work in public health agencies across the U.S. and currently has 159 associates in 34 states.