- Germination
Exclusive: Biggest Worries, Wins of U.S. Disease Control Chief
As Thomas Frieden prepares to leave office, he shared his hopes for the future and the health threats that still need to be addressed.
As the 16th director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Thomas R. Frieden has had to tackle some of the biggest disease challenges the U.S. agency has faced in decades.
At seven and a half years in office, he is the the longest serving CDC director since the 1970s. His tenure has encompassed the surprise emergence of Zika and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, the international epidemic of Ebola, the opiate-addiction crisis, and the 2009-10 pandemic of H1N1, popularly known as the swine flu.
As is customary for political appointees, Frieden submitted his resignation after the election, and unless the Trump presidential transition asks him to stay on, he will leave his job at noon
