Infectious Disease Trading Cards

This card set has photos and information about some of the infectious diseases that CDC studies. You can view the set online OR download and print your own copy. To view or print your own set, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download a free copy at https://get.adobe.com/reader/.

Disease Cards by Set

  • Before Vaccines

    Before Vaccines [PDF 190KB]


    Before vaccines, many children died from diseases that vaccines now prevent, such as whooping cough, measles, and polio.
  • Chickenpox

    Chickenpox [PDF 165KB]


    Chickenpox is a disease caused by infection with the varicella zoster virus, which causes fever and an itchy rash.
  • Avian Flu

    Diphtheria [PDF 173KB]


    Diphtheria is a respiratory diseae caused by bacteria.
  • Hepatitis A

    Hepatitis A [PDF 180KB]


    Hepatitis A is caused by a virus that causes disease of the liver.
  • Hib

    Hib [PDF 200KB]


    Hib is a bacterial disease. Hib is not related to influenza (flu).
  • Measles

    Measles [PDF 188KB]


    Measles is a serious disease. Every year, measles still kills over 700,000 people around the world.
  • Mumps

    Mumps [PDF 161KB]


    Mumps is causes by a virus that spreads from one person to another by coughing, sneezing, or simply talking.
  • Pertussis

    Pertussis [PDF 181KB]


    Pertussis, Whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection.
  • Polio

    Polio [PDF 132KB]


    Polio is caused by a virus that lives in throats and intestines.
  • Rubella

    Rubella [PDF 182KB]
    Rubella is an acute viral disease that causes fever and rash.

  • Tetanus

    Tetanus [PDF 157KB]


    Tetanus (lockjaw) is a serious disease that causes painful tightening of the muscles, usually all over the body.
  • SARS

    Vaccines [PDF 175KB]


    Without vaccines, epidemics of many preventable diseases could return, resulting in increased – and unnecessary – illness, disability, and death.

  • Disease Detectives

    Disease Detectives [PDF 150KB]
    Disease detectives look at clues from tiny germs to unravel the mystery of disease.

  • Foodborne Disease

    Foodborne Disease [PDF 156KB]
    Foodborne diseases are sometimes caused by tiny bacteria that makes us sick.

  • Gathering Evidence

    Gathering Evidence [PDF 145KB]
    Doctors and nurses gather evidence from sick people to find out if food made them ill.

  • Finding Bacteria

    Finding Bacteria [PDF 151KB]
    Microbiologists play an important role in solving the mystery of disease.

  • High-Tech Answers

    High-Tech Answers [PDF 139KB]
    When microbiologists find disease-causing bacteria, they send them to a laboratory for DNA fingerprinting. These laboratories use high-tech equipment to make DNA fingerprints.

  • Bacterial Fingerprints

    Bacterial Fingerprints [PDF 131KB]
    Each type of bacteria has unique DNA which makes up a pattern of bands called a fingerprint.

  • PFGE Patterns

    PFGE Patterns [PDF 138KB]
    The fingerprints that scientist use to identify bacteria are called Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) Patterns.

  • Comparing Fingerprints

    Comparing Fingerprints [PDF 143KB]
    After scientist at the public health laboratories have made a bacterial fingerprint, they share pictures of it with the PulseNet team.

  • Which Two Match? [PDF 151KB]
    Once the PulseNet team has found all the DNA fingerprints that look the same, they make a dendrogram, or bacteria family tree.

  • Epidemiolgists

    Epidemiologists [PDF 148KB]
    If the PulseNet team finds matching bacterial fingerprints from several different patients, they alert the epidemiologists right away.

  • Preventing New Cases

    Preventing New Cases [PDF 155KB]
    Always wash your hands before you eat.

  • Campylobacter jejuni

    Campylobacter jejuni [PDF 147KB]
    This bacterium hangs out in bird droppings, raw milk, and untreated water.

  • E.coli 0157:H7

    E.coli 0157:H7 [PDF 146KB]
    You can stop E. coli by never eating raw or undercooked hamburger or by not drinking unpasteurized milk and juice and by always washing your hands after touching raw meats.

  • Shigella

    Shigella [PDF 132KB]
    Shigella, spreads to other people by contaminated salads, sandwiches, and water. To stop this disease, wash your hands before eating.

  • Listera

    Listeria [PDF 146KB]
    Listeria loves cool, wet places like soft cheese, sandwich meat, and hotdogs. Throw away foods that have passed the expiration date and be sure the food you eat is clean and fully cooked.

  • Salmonellosis

    Salmonellosis [PDF 149KB]
    You can stop Salmonella by eating foods that are clean and fully cooked. Always wash your hands before eating.

  • Separate

    Separate [PDF 158KB]
    Some foods have bad germs that can spread to other foods if we are not careful.

  • Chill

    Chill [PDF 139KB]
    Be cool. Chill out. Refrigerate promptly.

  • Cook

    Cook [PDF 164KB]
    The only way to be sure cooked food is safe to eat is by using a food thermometer.

  • Clean

    Clean [PDF 152KB]
    Washing your hands is one of the best ways to kill germs and keep them from spreading.