CDC’s “Our Global Voices”: Looking Ahead to a Measles and Rubella Free World
Robert Linkins, chair of the Measles & Rubella Initiative, and chief of the Accelerated Disease Control and Surveillance Branch at the CDC Global Immunization Division, discusses efforts to eliminate measles, rubella, and the associated congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which can cause birth defects. Linkins writes, “[N]ot only CAN we eliminate measles and rubella, but we have done so — ridding 68 countries of measles and 59 countries of rubella — all with a $2 vaccine! … Together with national governments, we’re working to strengthen health systems, provide other health-promoting and life-saving interventions, and build strong surveillance and outbreak response systems…” (10/6).