The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS): Background information when reading Isolation Ward

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS)

This article relates to Isolation Ward

Dr. Nathaniel (Nate) McCormick, the hero of Isolation Ward , describes himself as "an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...part of the Special Pathogens Branch, which is in the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases".

Does such an organization exist? Absolutely!

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) was established in 1951 following the start of the Korean War as an early warning system against biological warfare and man-made epidemics. Today, it has expanded into a surveillance and response unit for all types of epidemics, including chronic disease and injuries.The Special Pathogens Branch, part of The Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, deals with some of the really nasty stuff - diseases like Ebola, Rift Valley fever, and Lassa fever (and before you ask, a Rickettsial disease is one caused by anyRickettsia bacteria, which are carried by parasites such as ticks, fleas and lice, and cause diseases such as typhus).

Filed under Medicine, Science and Tech

This "beyond the book article" relates to Isolation Ward. It originally ran in March 2006 and has been updated for the January 2007 paperback edition. Go to magazine.