Disease outbreaks are inevitable. Germs are part of our world, and there’s no way to completely eradicate them.
But epidemics and pandemics are preventable. Vaccines, better treatments, hygiene, improvements in ventilation, and teaching people how diseases spread can all give individuals and communities the tools they need to contain disease outbreaks before they turn into epidemics and pandemics. Trust in public health and in the governments that administer public health measures is key to making them work.
In this episode, Dr. Tom Frieden talks to host Maggie Fox about epidemics that were prevented and how they were stopped.
Dr. Frieden is the President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives and a former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.