Global Disease Detection: Technical Support Corps

CDC Technical Support Corps experts in Risk Communications conduct Pandemic Influenza Media Training. Journalists were brought to the Chao-Yang Hospital in Beijing, China to participate in an exercise on pandemic influenza management.

CDC is one of the world’s leading public health agencies and the only U.S. government agency that can rapidly access the in-depth scientific expertise required to respond to complex disease outbreaks. The Global Disease Detection (GDD) program relies on CDC’s experts in highly specialized areas to ensure important ancillary support and response to public health emergencies are available without regard to
usual work hours or holiday schedules.

In 2008, GDD established a cadre of dedicated experts, the Technical Support Corps (TSC),
based at CDC headquarters to provide tactical support to the GDD Centers on an as-needed basis and not delay routine public health work
or exhaust more stable resources.

Functions:

Provides 24/7 support to the GDD Centers
Allows the routine work of public health to continue despite periodic emergency responses
Facilitates reliable and robust headquarters support to the GDD Centers in the case of prolonged or complex emergencies

Expertise:

Trapping rats at the site of a recent case of hantavirus in a suburb of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. GDD collaborated with several Pasteur Institute laboratories to collect and investigate samples for Bartonella, leptospirosis, and hantavirus.

TSC members collectively possess a wide range of expertise in each of the GDD core capacities, including laboratory diagnosis of viral and bacterial infectious diseases, epidemiological investigation and control of diarrheal illnesses, pandemic preparedness and emergency communication, laboratory systems, and risk communications. They are well-positioned to provide assistance and scientific support in responding to the full range of emerging diseases. TSC members represent these CDC centers and offices: