CDC-Supported Programs To Train Epidemiologists In Sierra Leone Help Curb Potential Widespread Disease Outbreaks

CDC’s “Our Global Voices”: Keeping Kids Healthy in Sierra Leone
Regan Rickert-Hartman and Tushar Singh, epidemiologists with CDC, discuss “improving surveillance systems and training the public health workforce in Sierra Leone,” particularly following the Ebola epidemic. They write, “Sierra Leone now has 58 disease detectives trained through the Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) with an additional 23 disease detectives currently undergoing training. Trainees and graduates have already investigated more than 50 outbreaks. Sierra Leone also has an Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) system. The IDSR system monitors for more than 45 diseases, conditions, and public health threats. … We are proud to say that, thanks to this campaign, more than 2.8 million kids were vaccinated against measles in Sierra Leone…” (6/27).

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