How the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service protects public health at home and abroad

The Epidemic Intelligence Service has been a crucial tool in fighting diseases at home and abroad. Its impact would be impossible to replace.

Casey Luc, Health Scientist, University of Illinois Chicago • conversation
April 14, 2025 ~9 min

Bird flu could be on the cusp of transmitting between humans − but there are ways to slow down viral evolution

At the viral chatter stage of an outbreak, pathogens are just starting to infect people in sporadic bursts. It’s a sign that a pandemic may be on the horizon.

Ron Barrett, Professor of Anthropology, Macalester College • conversation
March 31, 2025 ~9 min


Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security

Overfishing, disease and environmental crimes cause social and political instability, economic strife and strained international relations.

Rod Schoonover, Adjunct Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University • conversation
March 27, 2025 ~9 min

5 ways schools have shifted in 5 years since COVID-19

Public school access to high-quality teachers is shrinking, while teen reports of feeling unsafe at school are on the rise.

Gravity Goldberg, Visiting Assistant Professor in Education Studies, Wesleyan University • conversation
March 10, 2025 ~10 min

5 ways schools have shifted in 5 years since the COVID-19

Public school access to high-quality teachers is shrinking, while teen reports of feeling unsafe at school are on the rise.

Gravity Goldberg, Visiting Assistant Professor in Education Studies, Wesleyan University • conversation
March 10, 2025 ~10 min

COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease

Scientific discoveries are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases. But addressing socioeconomic factors is just as essential in the fight against diseases such as syphilis, AIDS and TB.

Powel H. Kazanjian, Professor of Infectious Diseases and of History, University of Michigan • conversation
March 5, 2025 ~9 min

US dodged a bird flu pandemic in 1957 thanks to eggs and dumb luck – with a new strain spreading fast, will Americans get lucky again?

With the devastating 1918 pandemic in mind, US health officials saw an outbreak in Asia and swung into action. What happened offers lessons for today.

Alexandra M. Lord, Chair and Curator of Medicine and Science, Smithsonian Institution • conversation
Feb. 6, 2025 ~8 min

Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health

Raw milk can carry many dangerous germs − now including the H5N1 virus that causes avian flu.

Kerry E. Kaylegian, Associate Research Professor of Food Science, Penn State • conversation
Dec. 5, 2024 ~9 min


Public health surveillance, from social media to sewage, spots disease outbreaks early to stop them fast

Rather than winging it when an unusual health event crops up, health officials take a systematic approach. The goal is to quickly figure out what’s going on and squash any outbreak before it spreads.

John Duah, Assistant Professor of Health Services Administration, Auburn University • conversation
Nov. 21, 2024 ~9 min

Preparing for a pandemic that never came ended up setting off another − how an accidental virus release triggered 1977’s ‘Russian flu’

An epidemiologist makes the case that a rush of research to stop a swine flu outbreak led to an accidental lab release of an extinct virus. Preparing for one pandemic triggered a different one.

Donald S. Burke, Dean Emeritus and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Health Science and Policy, and of Epidemiology, at the School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Sept. 4, 2024 ~11 min

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