WELCOME BACK TO FAST FORWARD.

TODAY WE'RE IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA,

VISITING THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION,

A.K.A THE CDC.

WHAT'S THE CDC YOU ASK?

Kevin: THE CDC IS THE NATION'S PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY

CHARGED WITH HELPING TO PREVENT ILLNESS

AND KEEP THE POPULATION HEALTHY.

Jennifer: WE ARE RESPONDING TO REPORTS OF DISEASE OUTBREAKS.

WE MAY GO OUT IN THE FIELD

AND HELP INVESTIGATE WHAT'S HAPPENING

AND HOW TO STOP IT.

Jeanette: WE EMPLOY ABOUT 15, 000 PEOPLE ALL OVER WORLD.

HERE IN ATLANTA, WHICH IS OUR MAIN CAMPUS,

WE HAVE 5,800 PEOPLE

AND WE'RE THE 20TH LARGEST EMPLOYER IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA.

THE CDC'S 24/7 MISSION IS TO SAVE LIVES AND PROTECT PEOPLE.

ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT IT,

IS THAT THE CDC IS ONE OF THE BEST SOURCES ON THE PLANET

TO ANSWER ANY HEALTH RELATED QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

SO LET'S START ASKING.

WHAT'S UP WITH THAT GIANT MOSQUITO FROM THE TOP OF THE VIDEO?

Kevin: IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF MALARIA,

IT IS LIKE ONE BIG GIANT MOSQUITO,

IN ESSENCE BECAUSE THE MOSQUITO IS THE BIG CHALLENGE

AND TRANSMITTER OF THE MALARIA PARASITE, PLASMODIUM,

THAT GETS PASSED TO US WHEN THEY BITE US.

MALARIA IS AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT DISEASE.

IN FACT CDC WHEN IT FIRST STARTED IN THE 1940'S

WAS STARTED TO FIGHT MALARIA.

SO... IT IS LIKE ONE BIG MOSQUITO PROBLEM.

OKAY,

I'M THINKING IT'LL HELP

TO LEARN A FEW TERMS FOR THIS VIDEO.

SO LET'S GET STARTED,

EPIDEMIOLOGY.

EPIDEMIOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF DISEASES AND HOW THEY SPREAD.

BUT JEANETTE HAS A MORE CREATIVE WAY OF LOOKING AT IT.

Jeanette: EPIDEMIOLOGY IS DISEASE DETECTIVES

IT'S LOOKING AT AN OUTBREAK THAT YOU HAVE

YOU KNOW IT COULD BE FOOD POISONING,

IT COULD BE OF HIV OR AIDS

AND TRYING TO FIND A SOURCE.

SO GOING BACK AND TRYING TO FIND A COMMON ROOT

FOR ALL THOSE DISEASES

AND SEE IF WE CAN LINK TO A SINGLE SOURCE

LIKE WITH SALMONELLA,

SOMETIMES YOU GET SALMONELLA OUTBREAKS

AND YOU CAN LINK IT BACK TO LIKE INFECTED TOMATOES,

SPINACH OR SOMETHING.

THAT'S EPIDEMIOLOGY.

Jeanette: IT'S LIKE A CRIME SHOW BUT WITH DISEASE.

Jennifer/John: THAT'S A GOOD ANALOGY IT'S SORT OF LIKE CSI,

BUT IT DOESN'T ALL HAPPEN IN AN HOUR,

USUALLY IT TAKES...

AND WE'RE NOT AS PRETTY...

NICE,

AND WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF THE CDC HAD SOME SORT OF PROGRAM

WHERE TEENAGERS COULD GET A CHANCE TO TRY THIS THEMSELVES?

SAY NO MORE.

Betty: SO HERE AT CDC WE HAVE A PROGRAM IN THE SUMMER

CALLED DISEASE DETECTIVE CAMP.

Jeanette: IT GETS HIGH SCHOOLERS INTO THE CDC

AND THEY GET TO TAKE TOURS OF SOME OF THE FACILITIES,

AND THEY MEET CDC STAFF PEOPLE.

Betty: THEY CAN ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN EXPERIMENTS,

AND IT GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY

TO GET INTERESTED MORE IN WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES.

Jeanette: AT THEY END OF IT THEY DO WHAT THEY CALL

DISEASE DETECTIVES,

AND THEY'RE GIVEN A SCENARIO WHERE THERE'S SOME DISEASE

AND THEY GOT TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE

AND FIND THE SYMPTOMS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THE DISEASE IS.

IT'S REALLY REALLY COOL

AND IT GETS HIGH SCHOOLERS ENGAGED IN PUBLIC HEALTH.

THAT'S SOME SERIOUS ON THE JOB TRAINING.

OKAY, LET'S GET TO ANOTHER TERM YOU HEAR A LOT AT THE CDC.

MUTATION.

Jacinta: A MUTATION IS A GENETIC ALTERATION

IN THE DNA OF A BACTERIA, VIRUS, OR FUNGI.

AND IT CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN PLANT AND ANIMAL CELLS.

AND MUTATION PLAYS A BIG PART IN SOMETHING CALLED

THE EVOLUTION OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE.

AND IT RELATES TO HOW ANTIBIOTICS FIGHT

INFECTIONS IN YOUR BODY WHEN YOU'RE SICK.

I'LL LET STEPHANIE, A CDC PUBLIC HEALTH ANALYST,

TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THAT.

Stephanie: I KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN TEMPTED AT TIMES

I FEEL BETTER AND I DON'T WANT TO FINISH TAKING MY MEDICATION,

OR FINISH TAKING MY ANTIBIOTICS.

YOU GET THE STRONGEST OF THE STRONG THAT ARE STILL LIVING

IF YOU DON'T FINISH YOUR ANTIBIOTICS.

WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT IF AN ANTIBIOTIC KILLS SOME BACTERIA,

BUT LEAVES MORE RESISTANT BACTERIA ALIVE,

THE POPULATION WILL EVOLVE

AS THE RESISTANT BACTERIA REPRODUCE AND BECOME THE MAJORITY.

SO THE CDC IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF SCIENCE.

BUT JEANETTE KNOWS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PLACE

THAT JUST MIGHT SURPRISE YOU.

Jeanette: THE GREAT THING ABOUT CDC IS

THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SCIENTIST TO WORK HERE

KEEP TALKING.

Jeanette: I DIDN'T LIKE MATH IN HIGH SCHOOL,

BUT I DID LIKE SCIENCE

BUT MAYBE NOT ENOUGH TO MAJOR IN IT IN COLLEGE.

BUT I LIKED ENGLISH SO NOW I CAN COME HERE

AND COMMUNICATE ABOUT SCIENCE.

Preeti: YOU KNOW WE HAVE SECURITY PERSONNEL,

WE HAVE TECHNOLOGY FOLKS,

WE HAVE PUBLIC HEALTH PEOPLE,

WE HAVE HEALTHCARE WORKERS

Betty: YOU CAN DO OTHER THINGS LIKE GRAPHIC DESIGN,

COMMUNICATIONS,

EDUCATION,

BROCHURES,

POSTERS.

MY GOSH YOU CAN DO LABORATORY IF YOU WANT TO,

AND YOU CAN DO TRAVEL OR STAY LOCAL.

Jennifer: WE ALL WORK AS A TEAM

AND I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS

THAT MAKES THE CDC SUCH A COOL PLACE TO WORK.

John: THE BIG FIELD NOW IS BIO-FRAMADICS,

IT'S LOOKING AT HUGE AMOUNTS OF DATA AND PROCESSING THAT.

AND THAT'S A LOT OF COMPUTER BACKGROUND,

WRITING COMPUTER CODES,

AND THAT TECHNOLOGY IS MOVING SO FAST

AND WE INTERACT WITH THOSE ON A DAILY BASIS.

COOL JOBS.

SO WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DO YOU HIRE?

Jacinta: IF YOU'RE TRYING TO WORK AT CDC,

I THINK THE FIRST THING THAT YOU SHOULD DO IS HAVE

A PASSION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH.

Kevin: WELL I THINK THAT'S KIND OF THE GLUE BRINGING TOGETHER

MANY DIFFERENT PROFESSIONALS

AND TRAINING BACKGROUNDS HERE AT CDC.

PEOPLE WANT TO MAKE THE HEALTH OF OUR NATION BETTER,

AND GO BEYOND OUR BORDERS TO WORKING WITH OTHER COUNTRIES

TO TRY AND MAKE IT A HEALTHIER PLANET.

OKAY,

JUST IN CASE THERE'S ANY DOUBT ABOUT

THE KIND OF FOLKS WHO WORK HERE,

I WANT TO FINISH WITH A STORY ABOUT AN AMAZING DAY

JENNIFER HAD WITH THE CDC.

Jennifer: SO THE COOLEST THING I EVER DID AS PART OF MY JOB

WAS ACTUALLY ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2001.

WE WERE BOTH HERE AT WORK THAT DAY

WHEN PLANES HIT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS

AND THEY HAD TURNED TV ON IN THE CDC LOBBY,

AND WE WERE LOOKING UP

AND WE WERE THINKING TO OURSELVES...

OH MY GOSH,

I WANT TO HELP.

HOW CAN I HELP?

AND CDC WAS ONE OF THE FEW AGENCIES THAT HAD A WAY TO HELP.

SO THEY WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO SEND A TEAM

INTO NEW YORK CITY THAT DAY, ON SEPTEMBER 11TH.

AND I RAISED HAND AND VOLUNTEERED TO GO.

SO I WAS ON THE LEAR JET,

THE CDC LEAR JET THAT FLEW INTO MANHATTAN THAT DAY

WITH A FIGHTER JET ESCORT.

AND WE SET UP SURVEILLANCE IN HOSPITALS IN NEW YORK CITY.

SO THAT WAS A PRETTY INTENSE TIME,

BUT IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I'M MOST PROUD OF AT CDC.