CDC releases 2016 national snapshot of public health preparedness

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the 2016 National Snapshot of Public Health Preparedness on Thursday detailing the public health threats that currently face the country at large.

The report illustrates how federal investments enhance the nation’s ability to respond to public health threats and emergencies. Additionally, it covers the activities that occurred in 2014 and 2015 — including the Ebola response.

The report is broken down into three sub-categories based on the CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response’s (OPHPR) three overreaching priorities, including improving health security at home and around the world, protecting people from public health threats and strengthening public health through collaboration.

Highlights of the report include the Ebola response and how to deal with new cases, including those that appear at children’s health hospitals; global emergency management program activities; and OPHPR hard figures and facts from the past year, including funds awarded, countries involved and staff trained overall.

The CDC also detailed how it protects the public from health threats with actions such as regulating and monitoring the ownership, use and transfer of dangerous biological agents and toxins, quickly identifying and responding to disease agents and outbreaks through the laboratory response network, and providing critical personnel to states and localities to support public health preparedness planning and response.