Secretary RFK, Jr seemed confident that he would be able to get Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak under quick control after sending a disease detective from the CDC to help with the investigation.
And normally, we would agree.
CDC Sent Just One Disease Detective to Pennsylvania to Investigate Their Measles Outbreak
After all, the disease detectives from the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) of the CDC have been investigating and managing disease outbreaks for 75 years!
There’s a problem with the deployment to this outbreak, though.
It seems that RFK, Jr‘s CDC has literally sent just one disease detective to investigate and manage an outbreak that has already grown to 1,317 cases across 44 Pennsylvania counties, with 5 or 6 deaths.
This is unlike previous outbreaks, in which EIS typically sent at least two disease detectives AND a team of CDC workers to help them.
“An Epi-Aid was requested by Columbus Public Health (CPH) and Ohio Department of Health (ODH). CDC deployed 3 staff and 2 Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officers from CDC-Atlanta to support the EIS Officer at CPH from November 27−December 11, 2022.”
Meeting Of The Board Of Scientific Counselors Deputy Director For Infectious Diseases
During the 2022 Ohio measles outbreak, for example, which grew to 85 cases, the CDC had three EIS offices and three CDC staff people working on the outbreak.
And now, Pennsylvania gets just one person.
Why were fewer people sent?
Maybe it is because EIS has gotten smaller.
Even with the reversal in the layoffs targeting EIS workers, EIS class sizes have dropped by a huge margin.
Why?
In addition to having people apply to EIS, the class size has dropped from an average of about 76 people to just 40 this year.
And of course, CDC has fewer workers too.
And that is likely the reason why RFK, Jr’s CDC has literally sent just one disease detective to investigate and manage an outbreak that has already grown to 1,317 cases across 44 Pennsylvania counties, with 5 or 6 deaths.
More on the Pennsylvania Measles Outbreak Investigation
- There Has Been Yet Another Measles Death in Pennsylvania – An Unvaccinated Teenager
- Is Rabies Also on the Rise?
- EIS 2025 Annual Update
- Meeting Of The Board Of Scientific Counselors Deputy Director For Infectious Diseases
- Notes from the Field: Measles Outbreak — Central Ohio, 2022–2023
- Epidemic Assistance by the Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005–2014