Season premiere explores Chicago Responding to the measles outbreak and the critical link between public health and our economy
ATLANTA, 28 August 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The CDC Foundation today announced a new version of its popular Contagious Conversations podcast series. The updated show will use a story arc in each episode to explore critical public health issues with experts from a variety of fields. The latest episode released today – “The Cost of Getting Sick” – offers a behind-the-scenes look at an outbreak investigation and examines the economic impact of disease on our nation’s economy and the role of the public health community in preparing for and mitigating that impact.
“We are excited to offer our listeners the new format of Contagious Conversations, which offers perspectives from multiple experts in a narrative approach,” said Judy MonroePresident and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “Our goal is to highlight the role of public health in our lives and society, including in our latest episode on the impact on our economy.”
This episode features insightful conversations with Dr. Alexander Sloboda from the Chicago Department of Public Health and Dr. Daniel Filardo of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the rapid public health response to a recent measles outbreak in Chicago. The episode also includes a conversation with Dr. Michael OsterholmDirector of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), shares his insights on the costs of disease prevention versus the economic impact of disease outbreaks.
“(With measles), you don’t even have to come into contact with a person if you’re in the same room, say someone was on a bus or in a doctor’s office or even in a mall. Someone puts measles in the air when they’re contagious, usually before they get sick or get a fever and rash, and then it stays in the air for two hours. So if someone who comes in an hour later breathes it in, they get measles,” said Alex SlobodaMD, emergency physician and medical director for immunizations and emergencies at the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Sloboda continued, “Thanks to the amazing efforts of the CDPH, the City of Chicagoour health partners, stakeholders and community-based organizations, we were able to stop the measles outbreak fairly quickly. It could have been much worse if we had not acted as quickly and safely as we did with the vaccines, surveillance, testing and screening.”
The new format of Contagious Conversations will feature additional narratives to add more context to the conversations, include more perspectives, and give listeners a more complete picture. Additionally, new podcast episodes will be released quarterly, allowing for more comprehensive content development.
“With this new approach to our Contagious Conversations podcast, we are also working to shine a light on stories that convey the life-saving public health work that is happening around us every day to keep us all safe and provide us, our friends and our families with the information we need to make decisions about our health,” said Pierce Nelsonthe foundation’s communications director. “Public health is about protecting all of us – everyone, in every community, in every part of our country and the world.”
To listen to Contagious Conversations, subscribe or download on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. For more information, visit www.cdcfoundation.org/conversations.
About the CDC Foundation
The CDC Foundation supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in saving and improving lives by unleashing the power of collaboration among CDC, charities, businesses, organizations, and individuals to protect the health and safety of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private sector resources to support CDC’s important health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has over 2.2 billion US dollars and launched more than 1,400 programs impacting a wide range of health threats, from chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases such as rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses such as COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of programs in the United States and in more than 80 countries last year. For more information, visit www.cdcfoundation.org. Follow the CDC Foundation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter and TikTok.
Source: CDC Foundation
