Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

For CDC, Reducing Flu Spread Takes Priority Over Nuclear Attack Preparedness

5:35pm January 15, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

The agency scrapped plans to tell Americans what to do in a nuclear attack. Instead, it will focus on the flu. The decision came before Saturday's false alert of a ballistic missile attack.

Activity levels are based on the percent of outpatient visits in a state due to influenza-like illness (ILI) and are compared with the average percent of ILI visits that occur during weeks with little or no influenza virus circulation.

Flu Season Is Shaping Up To Be A Nasty One, CDC Says

6:02pm January 12, 2018

by Rob Stein

The flu season started early this year and is already widespread throughout the country and intense in dozens of states. But it's not too late to get that flu shot, officials say.

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Dr. Terry Horton, chief of addiction medicine and medical director of Project Engage at Christiana Care Health System, testified about opioid addiction before a U.S. Senate committee in May.

Asking About Opioids: A Treatment Plan Can Make All The Difference

4:57am November 22, 2017

by James Morrison

Is it worthwhile for doctors to screen all the patients who come through the door about their use of opioids? Usually not, but direct connections to treatment can change the equation.

Health & Safety

Survey Estimates Over Half Of Adolescents In North Carolina Getting Vaccinated Against HPV

3:50pm September 28, 2017

by Bethany Chafin

A recent survey shows more people in North Carolina are getting vaccinated to prevent sexually transmitted infections, suggesting that over half of adolescents in the state have had at least o

Georgia OB-GYN Will Lead Centers For Disease Control And Prevention

5:42pm July 07, 2017

by Andrea Hsu

Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, who leads the Georgia Department of Public Health, has been appointed CDC director. She'll take over as the Trump administration seeks big cuts to the CDC's budget.

Budget Director Mick Mulvaney holds up a copy of President Trump's proposed fiscal 2018 federal budget at the White House on Tuesday.

Medical Research, Health Care Face Deep Cuts In Trump Budget

4:31pm May 23, 2017

The administration's proposed budget would cut billions out of health programs at the NIH, CDC and FDA, as well as Medicaid services for children, the elderly and disabled.

Used syringes rest in a pile at a needle exchange clinic in St. Johnsbury, Vt. The CDC says needle exchanges like this one, where users can obtain clean needles, help reduce the rates of death and transmission among those suffering from hepatitis C.

Heroin Epidemic Is Driving A Spike In Hepatitis C Cases, CDC Says

6:37pm May 11, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

From 2010 to 2015, the number of new infections leaped nearly 300 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And researchers appear confident of the cause.

Puerto Rico resident Michelle Flandez caresses her two-month-old son Inti Perez, diagnosed with microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Zika virus continues to impact a small numbe

51 Babies Born With Zika-Related Birth Defects In The U.S. Last Year

2:18pm April 04, 2017

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The Zika virus continues to impact a small number of pregnant women and their babies in the U.S., and there is no sign of it slowing down. "Zika is here to stay," the CDC's acting director says.

Under the old rules, the CDC's authority was primarily limited to detaining travelers entering the U.S. or crossing state lines. With the new rules, the CDC would be able to detain people anywhere in the country, without getting approval from state and lo

CDC Seeks Controversial New Quarantine Powers To Stop Outbreaks

7:53am February 02, 2017

by Rob Stein

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants more flexibility in deciding whom to quarantine and why. But critics say the changes the agency has proposed raise civil liberties questions.

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Florida Department of Health workers at a temporary clinic set up in Miami Beach in September package up a urine sample to be tested for the Zika virus. Pregnant women in Texas and Florida have complained it can take as long as a month or more to get thei

Public Health Labs Hope Federal Funds Will Speed Zika Test Results

2:01pm October 06, 2016

by Shefali Luthra

But they'll have to wait a while. The portion of the $394 million Congress allocated to help pregnant women find out more quickly if they have Zika isn't expected to get to strained labs until 2017.