NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Flush with cash and spurred on by recent events, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday launched a new international plan aimed at reducing the global threat of infectious disease.

"Left unchecked, today's emerging diseases can become the endemic diseases of tomorrow," threatening citizens in the US and around the world, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said in a CDC statement.

The plan, "Protecting the Nation's Health in an Era of Globalization: CDC's Global Infectious Disease Strategy," comes 3 months after Congress gave its approval to nearly a half-billion dollar boost in funding for the CDC. Much of the impetus for increased funding stemmed from the recent spate of anthrax attacks in the US and the potential threat of other infectious illnesses, such as influenza or smallpox.

According to the CDC, the plan's key points include:

-- a strengthening of the CDC's outbreak assistance to other nations, whenever infectious disease flare-ups occur;

-- an expansion of regional early warning networks around the globe, to create a more comprehensive "network of networks";

-- "an active research program" aimed at enhancing technologies that can spot, diagnose and eliminate disease threats;

-- programs that will put to practical use proven disease-control strategies. These might include efforts such as the distribution of insecticide-laden netting to prevent malaria, or better home water systems to reduce water-borne disease;

-- cooperation between the CDC and its partners worldwide to plan for potential disease crises such as flu epidemics, or the spread of drug-resistant bacteria;

-- the establishment in developing countries of "International Emerging Infections Programs" that can strengthen local resources and train local health experts in preventing and fighting disease outbreaks.

All of these measures will be initiated and expanded "incrementally over the next 5 years as resources become available," according to the CDC.

Dr. James M. Hughes, director of the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases, believes that the new global strategy will protect individuals everywhere, not just in the US.

"Implementation of specific objectives in this plan will help realize CDC's vision of a world in which US citizens and people throughout the world are better protected from infectious diseases," he said.

Reference Source 89

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".