CDC 70th Anniversary: 7 Decades of Firsts
David J. Sencer CDC Museum
From the time that CDC was founded 70 years ago we have successfully controlled, contained, and even eliminated many health threats. Our vigilance at continuously combatting new and serious diseases that emerge daily and require immediate attention continues today.
Beginning in 1946 with its inception, examples of the organization’s stellar history include
- control of malaria, typhus, polio, and cholera epidemics,
- closing in on the eradication of smallpox
- closing in on the possible eradication of polio
- combating malarial transmission in the United States, MERS, and Enterovirus-D68 outbreaks
- management of antibiotic-resistant infections, birth defects, and a number of chronic diseases, to name but a few.
We’ve fought, and almost won the battle against Ebola in West Africa, while our disease detectives continue to combat new pathogens like the Zika virus, even as we battle behavioral issues that deprive Americans of health and vitality, including smoking, diabetes, injuries, HIV/AIDS, lead, and many more.
CDC’s critical research allows us to address these threats, while providing health information that protects our nation, and the World against disease. CDC’s intervention allows those who listen to make informed, health-related decisions designed to improve the quality of life for all.
The CDC’s 70th Anniversary is a great time to take a retro-futuristic look at the organization’s many accomplishments, and to ensure it continues to work worldwide to protect all of humanity from health, safety and security threats, and is able to respond when such threats arise, by putting proven science into action.