Contacts in China
As part of the global strategy, CDC will establish a series of International Emerging Infections Programs (IEIPs) in developing countries - centers of excellence that integrate disease surveillance, applied research, prevention, and control activities. Each site will represent a partnership between a ministry of health and CDC, with additional partners to include one or more local universities, medical research institutes, Field Epidemiology Training Programs, or U.S. military laboratories. Each site will maintain close ties with WHO Country and Regional offices. The IEIP sites will strengthen national public health capacity and provide hands-on training in laboratory science, epidemiologic science, and public health administration. Over time, they may have a regional as well as a national impact on health.
The
specific goals are outlined in priority area #6 of CDC's global
infectious disease strategy.
Establish International Emerging Infections Programs (IEIPs),
that:
- Train local scientists and CDC personnel
- Provide diagnostic and epidemiologic resources when outbreaks occur
- Serve as platforms for regional infectious disease control activities
- Conduct public health research of global importance
- Disseminate proven public health tools
The IEIPs will be modeled in part on the U.S. Emerging Infections Program (EIP), whose nine sites conduct population-based surveillance, provide emergency outbreak assistance, invest in cutting edge research, and address new problems whenever they arise. Because the EIP sites combine specialized epidemiologic and laboratory expertise, they are able to go beyond the routine functions of local health departments to address important issues in infectious diseases and public health. For example, when "mad cow disease" was reported in the United Kingdom in 1996, the EIP surveillance sites were able to reassure the U.S. public within a short time that the disease had not spread to the United States.
Like
the domestic EIPs, the International EIP sites will perform
multiple functions, including research on endemic diseases
and emergency surveillance when a new threat appears. They
will also provide disease surveillance data to ministries
of health and finance to help assess the burden of specific
diseases and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of national public
health programs. Also like the EIPs, the IEIPs will incorporate
pre-existing institutions; use these in an integrated fashion;
and establish an international steering committee to provide
guidance for core projects conducted at all of the IEIP network
sites. Areas in which IEIP sites might play an especially
important role are in surveillance for drug-resistant forms
of malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and dysentery. All of
the sites will be linked by electronic communications to keep
health experts around the world in close contact with one
another.
The long-term goal of the IEIPs will be to develop sustainable,
in-country capacity for disease surveillance, outbreak investigation,
and research on diseases of regional or global importance
by fostering the next generation of international public health
leaders. The implementation of this goal will require extensive
scientific, human, and financial resources from both private
and public sources, as well as sustained efforts over many
years. However, the costs will be low in relation to potential
benefits, in terms of both human health and increased global
prosperity.
(Read the rest of the strategy: Visit CDC's Global Infectious Disease Strategy)
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Page last modified: February 8, 2008