| In 2003, the spread of SARS alerted public health leaders that novel pathogens could be transmitted along international travel routes with unprecedented speed. With the realization that an outbreak anywhere in the world was a potential threat to virtually all countries, the United States Congress in 2004 authorized the appropriation of funds to establish a Global Disease Detection (GDD) program, based at the CDC, with the aim of promptly detecting and mitigating the consequences of emerging threats. The GDD program provides a platform to develop and strengthen global capacity to rapidly detect, identify, and contain emerging infectious disease and bioterrorist threats in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR), which entered into force in June... |
