NCEZID: Supporting State, Local, and Tribal Health
State, local, and territorial health departments work to combat emerging and reemerging infectious diseases (like Zika), improve public health (like food safety surveillance), and respond to public health emergencies like outbreaks of E. coli or Salmonella infections. NCEZID supports their work in a variety of ways.
What we’re doing
- The Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) works to reduce illness and related deaths caused by a wide range of infectious diseases.
- The ELC administers one of CDC’s key nationwide cooperative agreements, awarding approximately $200 million dollars annually to health departments for surveillance, detection, response, and prevention, plus strategic direction and technical assistance. For nearly a quarter-century, the ELC has provided direct financial support to all 50 states, several cities, and U.S. territories and affiliates to detect, respond to, control, and prevent infectious diseases.
- NCEZID’s innovative online tool, MicrobeNet, provides laboratorians in all 50 states unprecedented—and free—access to CDC’s library of information about more than 2,400 rare and emerging infectious bacteria and fungi.
- This tool helps doctors and laboratorians get the information they need to accurately diagnose unknown causes of diseases faster and save lives.
Related Resources - The Arctic Investigations Program (AIP) focuses on reducing and preventing infectious diseases that disproportionately affect Alaska Native people. For more than 40 years, AIP has collaborated with partners to tackle infectious disease threats by using state-of-the-art diagnostics, epidemiology, outbreak investigations, and targeted research.
- Approximately 20% of rural Alaska homes lack running water and sanitation services. AIP studies showed that running water and sanitation in homes prevent the spread of infectious diseases like bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and skin infections. This work resulted in policy changes that have made it easier to get water and sewer grants, which can help to provide more homes with running water.
The Emerging Infections Program (EIP), a network of state health departments and their collaborators, quickly translates surveillance and research activities into informed policy and public health practice. For example, EIP work has been instrumental in evaluating and honing strategies for preventing severe disease in newborns caused by group B Streptococcus.
Find more information on accomplishments and innovations in State, Local, and Tribal Health in these publications.
