Infectious Disease Prioritization for Multijurisdictional Engagement at the United States Southern Border Region

CDC facilitated a disease prioritization workshop with state, local and other federal partners to strengthen and focus joint efforts to address infectious disease challenges in the US southern border region. The process aimed to provide a common set of diseases for border-wide project development such as data visualizations and gap analyses. The workshop was held September 27-28, 2018, in San Diego, CA. During the workshop, participants identified infectious diseases of particular importance for the US southern border region, defined the criteria for prioritization, and established questions and weights relevant to each criterion. The workshop focused on diseases that can be introduced and amplified, or cause an outbreak, due to the movement of people, products, or animals between the United States and Mexico.

Participants selected four infectious diseases or disease groups as priorities using a mixed-methods prioritization process, the One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization (OHZDP) Process, developed by CDC. Following the workshop, participants devised specific steps to address the prioritized diseases or disease groups.

The specific workshop goals were to:

• Identify and prioritize endemic and emerging infectious diseases in the US southern border region of mutual concern to US federal, state, and local partners.
• Develop plans to jointly address gaps in surveillance, response, or other relevant activities for the prioritized diseases.