Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is a long‑standing field epidemiology program established to investigate and respond to acute public health threats, outbreaks, and emerging diseases, and to train physician and scientist officers in applied epidemiology. Founded in 1951 in Atlanta, Georgia, the EIS has deployed officers to domestic and international incidents, collaborated with agencies and organizations, and influenced public health policy through outbreak investigation, surveillance, and applied research.

History

The EIS was created in 1951 amidst concerns arising from the Korean War and public health challenges associated with Cold War conditions, the Korean War, and fears about biological threats including events linked to Office of Scientific Research and Development initiatives and wartime public health planning. Early EIS work intersected with programs from the United States Public Health Service, coordination with the World Health Organization, and relationships with state health departments such as the Georgia Department of Public Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Over the decades the EIS assisted in responses to epidemics and crises that involved pathogens and events connected to Poliomyelitis Vaccine Introduction, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, and outbreaks associated with agents investigated by the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. The program’s evolution reflected shifts in global health influenced by actors like the Pan American Health Organization, events such as the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa (2014–2016), and initiatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leadership, adapting to challenges posed by bioterrorism after Anthrax attacks and by zoonotic spillovers involving agencies like the United States Department of Agriculture.

Organization and Training

EIS is organized as a cohort‑based fellowship within the public health structure of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and regional engagement with entities including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and national ministries such as the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom). Training emphasizes applied field epidemiology, surveillance methods used in programs like the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, outbreak investigation tactics similar to those in Field Epidemiology Training Program (WHO), and collaborations with academic partners such as Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Emory University. Didactic components draw on statistical biostatistics resources from the National Center for Health Statistics and protocol development practices aligned with the Institutional Review Board frameworks found at institutions like U.S. Food and Drug Administration research centers. The EIS curriculum includes mentorship by senior officers who worked on notable incidents linked to organizations like the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the Pan American Health Organization.

Roles and Activities

EIS officers perform rapid outbreak investigation, surveillance enhancement, and public health response coordination alongside partners such as state and local health departments (for example, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), international agencies including the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization, and federal counterparts like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services. Officers contribute to surveillance systems paralleling efforts by the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System and analytic studies akin to those published in collaboration with journals associated with the American Public Health Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. Routine activities include field deployments during incidents such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, support for responses to events like the Zika virus epidemic, and long‑term projects in chronic disease surveillance similar to initiatives from the National Institutes of Health. EIS officers also advise on policy and regulatory matters interfacing with agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Notable Investigations and Contributions

EIS personnel have been central to investigations and responses to major public health events, including early work on poliomyelitis vaccination campaigns linked to the Salk vaccine rollout, seminal investigations during the emergence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, and outbreak response during the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa (2014–2016). Officers were active during the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, in foodborne illness investigations involving pathogens tracked by the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture, and in bioterrorism responses following the Anthrax attacks. EIS contributed to cluster investigations published in venues connected to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and to surveillance improvements that influenced programs at the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. The program’s alumni include leaders who later held positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, and ministries such as the Ministry of Health (Canada), shaping policy on vaccination, surveillance, and emergency preparedness.

Selection, Recruitment, and Career Paths

Selection for EIS traditionally targets clinicians, nurses, veterinarians, and scientists with backgrounds from institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Emory University School of Medicine, and candidates often hold advanced degrees from universities like Columbia University, University of California, San Francisco, and Yale University. Recruitment emphasizes applied epidemiology experience, with competitive selection processes comparable to those used by programs at the National Institutes of Health and fellowship tracks attached to the American Board of Preventive Medicine. Career trajectories of EIS alumni include roles in state health departments, leadership positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appointments at international organizations like the World Health Organization, academic posts at schools such as Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and senior positions within federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Category:Public health organizations in the United States