Global Health

• CDC and its partners are closely monitoring a MERS outbreak in the Republic of Korea, the largest known MERS outbreak outside the Arabian Peninsula.
• MERS is a respiratory illness that has caused fever, cough, and shortness of breath in most people who have the disease.
• Healthcare providers should evaluate patients suspected to have MERS using CDC’s guidelines and work with health departments to consider testing for patients under investigation.

• CDC has released updated guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used by healthcare workers during management of patients with Ebola virus disease in US hospitals, including procedures for putting on (donning) and removing (doffing).
• Starting October 27, public health authorities will conduct active post-arrival monitoring of all travelers whose travel originated in the Ebola-affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea.
• CDC reminds healthcare workers to “Think Ebola” [PDF–149KB] by taking a detailed travel and exposure history for any patient with fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained hemorrhage.

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• Worldwide, 780 million people live without safe drinking water and 2.5 billion live without basic sanitation, which are leading causes of diarrheal diseases. Diarrheal diseases account for 1 in 9 child deaths worldwide.
• Diarrhea prevention focused on safe water and improved hygiene and sanitation is cost effective: every $1 invested yields an average return of $25.50.
• You can learn more about global safe water efforts from CDC’s fact sheets, podcasts, and videos.

• Global Disease Detection (GDD) Regional Centers help host countries build on-the-ground capacity to detect deadly outbreaks in accordance with International Health Regulations.
• GDD Regional Centers supported 242 outbreak responses [PDF-5.6MB] across 20 countries in five continents last year, most within a span of 24 hours.
• CDC’s global health videos highlight our work with partners around the world to control health threats and protect the health of Americans at home and abroad.

• Currently, 34 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS—more than two-thirds of them in developing countries.
• Three key interventions have drastically reduced new HIV infections, putting us on the path to an AIDS-free generation.
• You can support the fight against global HIV/AIDS by raising awareness using social media tools.

• Measles is brought into the United States by people who get infected abroad and spread to others; in 2011, there were 222 reported cases of measles and 17 outbreaks in the United States.
• Measles is highly contagious and can cause severe complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis, and even death.
• Now is the time to promote measles vaccination for travelers to international destinations, including the Summer Olympic Games.

• Half of the world’s population (3.3 billion) live in areas where malaria transmission occurs.
• In 2010, 1,691 cases of malaria were reported in the United States, the highest number of cases in 30 years.
• By sharing CDC’s Malaria 101 continuing education course, you can help clinicians recognize and diagnose malaria.

• Worldwide polio cases have declined by more than 99% due to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
• Not a single case of polio has been reported in India, a previously endemic country, for more than a year.
• You can be part of the polio success story by promoting vaccination during National Infant Immunization Week and World Immunization Week (April 21–28).