Global Disease Detection (GDD) Operations Center
Public health professionals put on protective gloves during the 2012 Ebola outbreak in Uganda.
We detect and support the investigation of outbreaks at the earliest stages, often before the cause is determined. Since 2007, the center has monitored and reported over 1300 unique outbreaks of more than 140 diseases occurring in over 150 different countries.
In What We Are Watching—Top Global Infectious Disease Threats, 2013-2016: An Update from CDC’s Global Disease Detection Operations Centerexternal icon, GDDOC identified six top threats monitored from 2013 to 2016. These threats were avian influenza, cholera, Ebola, yellow fever, chikungunya, and Zika virus. Updates are also included for polio and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS), which were identified as threats in the 2012 What We Are Watchingexternal icon document. Through tracking these top threats, GDDOC is able to control the effects of an outbreak and better position CDC to respond earlier.