State of public health over the last 10 years?

[Smeghead]

I just finished reading The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett, a book that’s been sitting on my nightstand for at least seven years. It’s a rather depressing look at the current state of the human vs. microbe war. In particular, in the last chapter, she paints a pretty grim picture of the public health infrastructure, both American and international.

She describes a system that’s woefully underequipped, underfunded, unprepared for any serious outbreaks of disease, and understaffed. She describes the WHO and CDC as being bogged down by politics and bureauracracy.

The book, however, was published in 1994, so my question is have things changed since then? Gotten better? Worse? Stayed about the same?

[Yeah]

@Smeghead

She describes the WHO and CDC as being bogged down by politics and bureauracracy.

The book, however, was published in 1994, so my question is have things changed since then? Gotten better? Worse? Stayed about the same?

With respect to the CDC: Yes, worse. Recall that the CDC is part of the Executive Branch.

From what I’ve heard, it would be impossible for the WHO to get any more political and bureacratic than it is.