CDC highlights achievements of 2013, goals for 2014
(HealthDay)—The top five gains made in improving health security at home and around the world in 2013, and the top five areas for improvement in 2014 have been highlighted in an end-of-year report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The top five achievements of 2013 include encouraging more than 100,000 smokers to quit, as a result of the Tips From Former Smokers campaign. Advanced Molecular Detection, based on a whole genome sequencing and diagnostic testing approach, was employed to quickly define and stop a listeriosis outbreak. More than 12,000 health care facilities reduced infections using the National Healthcare Safety Network. Other accomplishments include more than one million babies born HIV-free over the last 10 years, and new resources available anticipated to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.
Looking toward 2014, five main areas for improvement include increasing rates of human papillomavirus vaccination; promoting appropriate antibiotic use; reducing the risk of prescription opioid deaths; eradicating polio worldwide; and improving detection, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases to enhance global health.
"While our biggest successes may be the bad things that did not happen, careful assessment of what we did well—and what we might do better—is essential for continued success," CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., said in a statement.
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