Radiation sickness, known as acute radiation syndrome (ARS), is a serious illness that occurs when the entire body (or most of it) receives a high dose of radiation, usually over a short period of time. Many survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs in the 1940s and many of the firefighters who first responded after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident in 1986 became ill with ARS.

Answers to questions like: What is Radiation?, How Can Exposure Occur?, What Happens When People Are Exposed to Radiation?, What Types of Terrorist Events Might Involve Radiation?, and more.

The Situation Awareness Section (SA) mission is to support CDC emergency response operations through strengthening public health information sharing between CDC, Federal, State, and local entities to monitor, collect, analyze, and develop critical information to support response actions and produce data, information, and geospatial information products supporting a User Definable Operating Picture (UDOP).

This fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives you some basic information about Radiation and Potassium Iodide (KI). It explains what you should think about before you or a family member takes KI.

Haiti Cholera Response: Stories from the Field, Part 3 - by Molly McCollom

CDC/ATSDR Guidance on the Interpretation and Use of Blood Laboratory Analyses for Volatile Organic Compounds

Volatile Organic Compounds and Your Health Some people in the Gulf have had their blood tested for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because they were worried about exposure to chemicals after the Gulf oil spill. CDC and ATSDR are working with Gulf residents and their doctors to help them understand what the results might mean

With the continuing resurgence of pertussis, health care professionals will likely see more patients with suspected pertussis. Proper testing criteria, timing of testing, specimen collection techniques, protocols for avoiding specimen contamination, and appropriate interpretation of test results are all necessary to ensure that Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) reliably informs patient diagnosis.

Battling Disease Outbreaks in the Big Apple - by Scott Harper

Haiti Cholera Response: Stories from the Field, Part 2 - by Araceli Rey

The National Public Health Radio Network (NPHRN) is a collaborative initiative between CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) and the Division of Emergency Operations (DEO).

As influenza activity increases in the United States, clinicians are urged to consult CDC guidance on the use of influenza antiviral agents and rapid influenza diagnostic tests this season. Updated recommendations on the use of antiviral medications will be published in an upcoming Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), but an interim version of the recommendations is currently available on CDC's website at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/antivirals/index.htm.

Haiti Cholera Response: Stories from the Field. Part 1 - by Emily McCormick

An outbreak of cholera was confirmed in Haiti on October 21, 2010. Cholera had not been documented in Haiti for decades so cholera outbreaks were considered unlikely in Haiti immediately following the earthquake in January, 2010.

Fact sheet featuring information about what light crude oil does when it reaches shore.

Newly released Public Health Preparedness: Strengthening the Nation's Emergency Response State by State (2010) Features national-level data and individual fact sheets on preparedness activities taking place in the 50 states and 4 localities supported by CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative agreement.

The Gulf Coast Oil Spill has the potential to affect human health in addition to the effects already seen on animal and marine life. CDC, along with the affected Gulf Coast states, has developed a plan to track the potential short-term health effects related to the oil spill in the affected communities.

CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognize the importance of responding to potential public health issues related to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) initiated the agency’s response on April 20th. CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on May 6th as part of the federal response to the environmental disaster.

CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognize the importance of anticipating, monitoring and responding to any potential public health hazards that may affect human health. Currently, 282 CDC and ATSDR staff members are involved in the response, including 14 staff members who are deployed to Gulf Coast states.

What Health Care Providers Should Know about Potential Health Hazards from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.