CDC Is Ignored Until U.S. Gets Into Trouble

[mfcorey1]

After a rough start dealing with America’s first Ebola cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appear to be getting the problem under control. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be more incidents; a health care worker was diagnosed with the virus in New York yesterday after returning from West Africa. But the CDC now seems better able to control secondary infections, particularly among health care workers, who are at the greatest risk.

As the 21-day incubation period lapses without new infections in Texas, dozens of people are being cleared from the watch list. But Ebola lingers as a reminder of how easily safety organizations can weaken and what we must do to keep them effective.

“Government is the enemy until you need a friend,” said former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Government organizations like the CDC, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration exist mostly to be our friends when we need protection from harm.

Unfortunately safety organizations like these don’t get much love in between disasters. They get attacked by those who covet their budget. They get attacked by those who hate government in general. They get attacked by corporations that don’t want to spend the money to comply with regulation. And they face political pressure to paper over potential problems that could embarrass some elected official. It’s hard to retain talent under conditions like that.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cdc-is-ignored-until-us-gets-into-trouble/ar-BBb0C4e

[Jeneral2885]

1. I agree

it's the same story with the NSA/CIA. People ignore the actual role on these organisations, then blast thme for infringing on rights then say they didn't do enough to prevent attacks.

[rock]

2. I call this "the Brick Wall Syndrome"

Particularly affected is the government, the politicians, and the voters. What is "the Brick Wall Syndrome", you say? If you're driving a bus full of people and you see a brick wall on the road ahead, do you all run around pointing fingers, blaming each other until nature solves the problem for you? That's "the Brick Wall Syndrome".

[malaise]

3. I disagree - CD was not ignored

It was targeted by the ReTHUG scumbags and funding was cut.

[DeadEyeDyck]

4. but isn't this the same with other government institutions? I.e. police and military?