CONTAGION, film by Warner Brothers.
Can what happened in this film really happen?
Serious, deadly contagious disease outbreaks can and do happen. CDC investigates new contagious diseases—averaging one new contagion per year. These new contagious diseases can emerge right here or only a plane-ride away from here.
It’s not just new diseases that threaten the United States. Some diseases long thought controlled in the United States, like tuberculosis, can reemerge and be more deadly than ever.
CDC is on 24/7 to answer the call when a community or a country needs help to save lives and protect people from health threats. How many people get sick and die immediately depends on the following:
• the rapid detection of the disease organism,
• a clear understanding of how it is transmitted person-to-person, and
• what is needed to stop ongoing transmission.
At that point it is a race to find the best way to treat and prevent the disease.
CDC is on the frontline 24/7 providing national health security and its success depends on many factors:
• How many trained scientists it has available to respond
• The quality of its laboratories
• The available means to collect and transmit its findings
• The degree to which people take action to protect themselves and stay healthy
Are we prepared?
CDC is always preparing for, and working to prevent, the next pandemic. At the center of the nation's public health system, CDC exists to protect communities and save lives by controlling disease outbreaks like the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
The CDC’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) serves as the command center for monitoring and coordinating emergency response to public health threats in the U.S. and abroad. Staffed around-the-clock, the EOC serves as CDC's central point of contact for reporting public health threats such as pandemic flu, natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
CDC Foundation