What is one significant public health achievement attributed to the CDC?

The elimination of smallpox is a significant public health achievement attributed to the CDC because it represents the first disease to be eradicated globally through human effort. This remarkable success was achieved through a comprehensive vaccination campaign coordinated by the World Health Organization, with strong support and resources from the CDC.

Smallpox was a highly contagious and deadly disease that caused widespread outbreaks before the development of a vaccine. The CDC played a crucial role in the surveillance, vaccination, and public health education required to effectively contain and ultimately eradicate the disease. The last natural outbreak of smallpox occurred in 1977, and in 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated.

This achievement underscored the effectiveness of vaccination as a public health tool and paved the way for similar initiatives against other infectious diseases. It remains a cornerstone of public health history, demonstrating what is possible through coordinated efforts in vaccination and disease surveillance. The other options, while important public health concerns, do not represent an elimination of a disease on the scale seen with smallpox.