CDC Timeline |
The 1940s1946The "Communicable Disease Center," or CDC, opens in the old Office of Malaria Control in War Areas in downtown Atlanta. Part of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS), the CDC has a mission to work with state and local health officials in the fight against malaria, still prevalent in several Southern states, typhus, and other communicable diseases. 1947 |
The 1950s1951The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is established. EIS quickly becomes the nation's --- and world's --- response team for a wide range of health emergencies. Its young, energetic medical officers make house calls around the world. CDC broadens its focus to include polio and establishes closer working relationships with the states. National disease surveillance systems begin. 1955The Polio Surveillance Unit is established. Ten years later, CDC assumes PHS responsibility for the control of polio; the disease almost disappears from the Western Hemisphere in 1991. |
The 1960s1961CDC takes over publication of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which publishes important data on deaths and certain diseases from every state every week. The first cases of a new disease, later called AIDS, were reported in the MMWR in 1981. 1966 |
The 1970s1970The Communicable Disease Center renamed the Center for Disease Control to reflect a broader mission in preventive health. 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 |
The 1980s1980The agency is renamed the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to reflect a change in organizational structure. 1981 1983 1986 CDC reports a strong association between Reye Syndrome and aspirin, noting that 90 percent of cases could be preventable by reducing aspirin treatment of children. 1988 |
The 1990s1991CDC begins development of a national strategic plan for the early detection and control of breast and cervical cancers among all American women. CDC conducts the first and largest scale health survey to employ computer-assisted interviewing. 1992CDC adds Prevention to its name to reflect a broader role and vision, but retains the initials, CDC. 1993 In May, an outbreak of an unexplained pulmonary illness occurred in the southwestern United States, in an area shared by Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah known as "The Four Corners." Virologists at CDC used several tests, including new methods to pinpoint virus genes at the molecular level, and were able to link the pulmonary syndrome with a virus, in particular a previously unknown type of hantavirus. The new virus was called Muerto Canyon virus-later changed to Sin Nombre virus (SNV)-and the new disease caused by the virus was named hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, or HPS. 1995CDC begins publishing the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, a peer-reviewed publication established expressly to promote the recognition of new and reemerging infectious diseases around the world. CDC goes onsite in Zaire to investigate an outbreak of deadly Ebola virus. CDC recommends AZT therapy for HIV-infected pregnant women to reduce transmission of the virus to their babies. 1996CDC celebrates 50 years of success as the Nation's Prevention Agency and a first-rate response team for a wide range of health emergencies both here at home and abroad. 1997 CDC assists in the investigation of a new strain of flu in humans in Hong Kong; 18 cases and six deaths due to influenza A (H5N1) are reported. CDC released the first annual report of pregnancy success rates for fertility clinics in the United States. The report was mandated by the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act passed by Congress in 1992. The goal of "Assisted Reproductive Technology Success Rates" is to help consumers make informed decisions. 1998The first Surgeon General's report to focus on tobacco use among minorities in the United States is released. "Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups" provides a single, comprehensive source of data on tobacco use and its physical effects among African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. 1999 |
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