NACCHO is dedicated to strengthening local health departments' (LHDs') infectious disease infrastructure because LHDs are frontline responders who collaborate with partners such as hospitals, private providers, and community health centers to control these diseases via enhanced surveillance, strategic planning, and joint preparedness exercises. As the challenges to LHDs' infectious and communicable disease programs continue to grow, NACCHO will continue to address critical issues LHDs face, such as epidemiology capacity and availability of appropriate preparedness funding targeted to local jurisdictions. 

Ninety-four percent of LHDs surveyed in NACCHO’s 2001 LPHA Infrastructure Survey either directly provide, contract out, or both directly provide and contract out communicable disease control services. Eighty-four percent of respondents either directly provide, contract out, or both directly provide and contract out epidemiology and surveillance services. Infectious diseases are a continuing threat to all people, irrespective of health profile. They cause tremendous sickness and death, and as a result place a huge financial burden on society. Although many infectious diseases have been controlled by modern preventive techniques, such as vaccines and antimicrobials, new diseases—such as avian-strain influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)—are emerging threats to the nation’s health and present new challenges to the nation’s public health preparedness efforts.