The Epidemic Intelligence Service
Today’s CDC is known for assisting U.S. state health departments and other countries’ ministries of health during local outbreaks and emergency responses. While the malaria control program set precedent for this practice, the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) improved CDC’s ability to support states. Dr. Alexander D. Langmuirexternal icon created the EIS program in 1951 to aid the states in the control of communicable disease.
At its inception, the EIS program was part of the U.S. government’s efforts to detect biological warfare during the Korean War, but its success in detecting outbreaks led to it continuing today. Now, it’s a 2-year training program for health professionals interested in the practice of