A History of Success: Investigating and Responding to Public Health Threats Since 1951

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Milestone Investigations

EIS has a 70-year history of success in training disease detectives. EIS officers step up at a moment’s notice to investigate public health threats in the United States and around the world. From the Smallpox Eradication Program in the 1960’s to the COVID-19 pandemic, EIS officers are called on to protect people and save lives.

1955 through 2016. Polio(1955), Smallpox(1966), Legionnaires Disease(1976), Ebola(1976), Asprin (1978), HIV/AIDS (1981), E.coli(1993), Anthrax (2001), SARS (2003), Ebola (2014), HIV/Hepatits (2015), Zika (2016).

Details by the decade
EIS Timeline Booklet - A Snapshot of Public Health Achievements

A Snapshot of Public Health Achievements pdf icon[2 MB, 10 Pages, 508] highlights milestone investigations that improved health, made a difference in thousands of lives, and effected change in communities and entire countries.

Did You Know?
EIS 1960 Leather Shoe Sole

Worn out shoe leather with a prominent hole worn through has been a recurring visual theme of EIS through the decades, a reference to the practice of EIS officers personally investigating disease outbreaks at the local population level, in all parts of the world.

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Page last reviewed: January 4, 2022
Content source: Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development