CDC in Atlanta: America's Premier Infection Control Agency

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (1600 Clifton Rd), is the United States' lead national public health institute and the world's foremost authority on infection control.

Core Infection Control Functions

• Guideline Development: Guideline for Isolation Precautions, Hand Hygiene, Environmental Infection Control, Sterilization/Disinfection—global standards
• Outbreak Investigation: Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers deploy globally—Ebola, COVID-19, foodborne, healthcare-associated
• Surveillance Systems: NHSN (healthcare-associated infections), PulseNet (foodborne), NARMS (antimicrobial resistance)
• Laboratory Reference: High-containment labs (BSL-4) for pathogen identification, sequencing, countermeasure development
• Training & Certification: STRIVE, NETEC, Project Firstline—for healthcare workers, facilities
• Funding & Technical Assistance: Grants to state/local health departments, hospitals, global partners

Campus & Reach

Atlanta campus: 15+ buildings, 3,000+ staff. 10 regional offices. 60+ country offices. 2023 budget: ~$9.2B. Director appointed by President, confirmed by Senate.

Beyond Infection Control

Chronic disease, injury prevention, environmental health, occupational safety, health equity, emergency preparedness, global health security.

Public Access

David J. Sencer CDC Museum (free, Clifton Rd). Massive online resources: MMWR, Yellow Book, Vital Signs, toolkits for clinicians/facilities.